Page 64 of Each Their Own Devil

“It’s a peace offering?” Violet asked quietly.

“Take the fig and do what you will with it. If you want to die, then die. It’s out of my hands now.”

When Violet finally made it to her feet, Aleja was struck by how frail her hips and shoulders looked—angled in strange ways that didn’t seem to support walking without losing balance. “You would have done the same,” Violet spat. “It’s only a matter of timing that they hate me and not you?—”

“Half of them do hate me, Vi. You could have told me what you were doing,” Aleja said in a harsh whisper. The Third, privy to their conversation, flicked his tail against the iron bars.

“You wouldn’t have believed me,” Violet said.

“You don’t know that.”

“I do. It was right after the second Trial, when we were forced to betray each other. I was a brand-new person in the Hiding Place, not even a Dark Saint, and suddenly I was going to propose working with the enemy? So I did what I did, and I don’t regret it. If there’s a chance I saved your life, or Bonnie’s, then it will have been worth it. Thanks for the fig, Al. I’ll think about eating it. You can go, if you want.”

“I—” Aleja began. “I miss you.”

She found it was true. Before her Trials, she hadn’t known what it was like to both love and hate someone so deeply that it froze her between helping and hurting them. “But I’m still mad at you,” she continued. “And it’s a kind of mad I’m not sure I can move on from. If you had taken me aside and explained, you know I would have talked to the Knowing One on your behalf. And you know he would have listened to me.”

“I was scared, Al?—”

Aleja raised a hand, palm up. “I’ve said all I have to say. You were my best friend. So, please, eat the damn fig, and if you don’t like the consequences, you can deal with them after we avert the apocalypse.”

“This is a peace offering, isn’t it?” Violet asked.

“Why would an immortality-granting fig at the cost of servitude to my greatest enemy be a peace offering?” Aleja lied.

14

THE FIRST MOTHER

“A mother wages her own quiet war.” —The Book of Open Doors, Book VII: The Return to the Threshold

“You never read those books,did you?” was the first thing Taddeas said the next time they were alone together. It happened to coincide with the moment Nicolas summoned an army of Umbramares from the earth as their vanguard into the Astraelis realm.

“Why do you insist on asking questions you know you won’t like the answer to?” Aleja asked, swinging her leg over an Umbramare that was slightly smaller than the others.

“I wanted you to read those books because I have a slight interest in your survival—one I think you don’t share,” Taddeas answered.

“It’s because I didn’t havetime, Tad,” Aleja said. It was true. There had been only another night in the Hiding Place before Nicolas decided it was time to put their plans into motion. “Are there any with a crash course on dealing with a horde of Authorities and then killing a goddess?”

“Not unless you’re willing to read between the lines,” Taddeas said. “Listen to me very carefully and remember that I’m being literal right now. You’ll be riding between me and Nicolas, and if both of us die, Orla is next in command. If she dies, then it’s you—not because anyone agreed to it, but because no one else was willing to take the job. I need you to remember that you are impulsive. I spent years reading old battle reports from the last war, and it was true even then. You’ve been lucky so far, but whatever your first thought is, it’s not always your best thought. Whenever you can, doubt yourself.”

“That’s encouraging, Tad. Thanks.”

“That’s High General to you right now, Al. When you decide to take my place, I’ll happily turn over the title. For now, you’re still under my command, so I order you to tell me your strategy when we reach the wall of Authorities.”

They had gone over it what seemed like a thousand times in the past few hours. “Run. And if I can’t, throw so much fire at them that they’re forced to hold back. Use the explosive packets when I see an opportunity. What about you, Taddeas? Taking out the last two nearly killed you, and there are sure to be more than your magic can handle this time.”

“Don’t worry about me.”

“You know I can’t do that.”

“My well-being doesn’t matter right now, only Val’s. He’s the only one with a chance of stopping the Avaddon.”

“What about Jack?” Aleja asked, as her Umbramare pranced anxiously beneath her.

“Jack is as safe as he can be with the fey in the Green Country. He always wanted to go there. So let’s do our best to win this, Lady of Wrath. I’m very tired of being afraid for myself and everyone I love.”

“Me too,” Aleja whispered, urging her Umbramare on as they approached the wards, with what remained of the Astraelis army trailing behind them.

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