Cade’s world went from chaos to outright pandemonium in the span of a single breath. His fingers dug into the crystalline Remnant as he emerged from the flash of green light and the cavern he left behind. In front of him was such a strange scene that he briefly contemplated if the teleportation had gone awry and now he was dead or stuck inside some fever dream.

  Gavin was in front of a floating ghost of the goddess Life while he scratched his chin in contemplation.

  Orro and a dark elf ninja traded blows behind the preoccupied telepath. Jer was currently attached by his magical gloves to a large cleaver wielded by Jug, Hugh’s resident orc.

  Fenwick and Nora dueled wildly while a human with a tight buzz cut fought to keep Elena away from a pacing Hugh. Evie was off in another corner with an injured but very much alive Rayka, who was calling out commands and encouragement when and where possible.

  Relief threatened to overwhelm his mind at the sight of his sister, but seeing her bruised and beaten state reforged that relief into an anger that had no limits and no restraints.

  Cade’s fiery eyes landed on the back of Hugh’s head.

  He would pay for what he had done.

  Cade’s Destruction core started to recharge immediately, even though he had been running on fumes toward the end of his escape and Remnant retrieval. It was as if his rage fueled it.

  He got to his feet and stalked silently forward, unwilling to give away the element of surprise.

  Before he could reach Hugh, however, Gavin snapped his fingers loudly, and he shouted at the ethereal apparition of Life with a triumphant grin.

  “I can’t believe it, but it’s a fucking apricot!” Gavin yelled.

  The goddess nodded, and the crystalline tower they were in rumbled mightily. The lowest floor to the structure gave way, and they all began to descend toward the arena’s sandstone surface. Each subsequent floor collapsed, shuttering with such ferocity that it was nearly impossible to maintain his footing, much less engage in combat.

  Cade crouched and waited as the two teams struggled to stay upright. Crystals scraped against one another in a vicious cascade of stone and sound. Their floor touched down to the sandstone with a mighty crash, and Cade was alarmed that the damage continued to spread.

  His head swiveled around to see if Life’s projection had anything to say about it, but she was nowhere to be seen. Whatever barrier held the audience’s cries of alarm dissipated all at once, and the storm of screams and shouts rolled over them.

  The tower crumbled apart, heavy shards falling down like meteors. Cracks started to appear beneath their feet.

  “Team! On me!” Cade shouted.

  They all whirled toward him with the synchronized grace of a flock of startled birds, their faces a peculiar cocktail of relief and gut-wrenching terror. Relief, because at least they weren’t alone in this nightmare anymore. Alarm, because being together just meant they could all meet their doom as one big, dysfunctional family.

  Behind them, the crystal tower groaned like a dying god, its once-pristine facets fracturing with the sound of a thousand mirrors shattering at once. Shards of crystal as big as a man’s torso plummeted from the sky, each impact sending shockwaves through the ground that threatened to knock them off their feet.

  The air filled with a glittering mist of crystal dust, beautiful and deadly all at once. It caught the light, turning the world into a dazzling, disorienting kaleidoscope. Each breath was a gamble as the dust threatened to fill their lungs.

  They ran like death itself was on their heels, and in a way, it was. The tower’s collapse was gaining on them, a cascading avalanche of crystalline destruction that promised to bury them in the most beautiful tomb imaginable.

  Feet pounded against the ground, lungs burned, muscles screamed in protest. But still they ran, driven by that most primal of instincts—survive, survive, survive.

  “Is this part of the trial?!” Cade shouted at Gavin.

  “Gods, no!” the telepath replied. “I just answered the final question and then all hell broke loose. Did you do this?”

  Above them, the audience fanned out from the largest of the crystal pillars that leaned against the magical dome. Panic spread through their numbers with each passing heartbeat. Cade noticed that a few were trampled in the mob’s rush to escape.

  “I don’t think so,” Cade answered in a daze. His hand throbbed as the Remnant pulsed wildly in his grip. Fumbling, he thrust it into his backpack and secured the leather straps over the covering. “I did leave a mess down there, though. This couldn’t be Stephen’s work. He’s preoccupied.”

  “Stephen? That lich you mentioned? What’s he got to do with this?” Orro asked.

  “Well…”

  Before Cade could finish, the center of the arena exploded outward. Nora stepped forward and cut through a medium-sized chunk of the sandstone, the bisected pieces crashing to either side of their group.

  The dust parted after a few moments to reveal the tree Cade had just left behind. It had risen, the roots and limbs writhing as they arched toward the sun, and it was in poor condition. The once-vibrant green leaves had turned a sickly yellow, and the writhing roots had rotted considerably. In the center where Cade had extricated the Remnant was a red membrane that throbbed brightly. Something moved inside the unnatural barrier.

  And as he looked at it, something overtook him.

  Something dark.

  He lost control of his own body. His thoughts blurred and buzzed. He rushed forward, his mind going blank as whatever this was thrashed into his mind,, and he raced ahead of his team. They all shouted for him, but he didn’t reply. He couldn’t. He could hardly think, much less speak, as this darkness raged through every inch of his body, coursing through his core with a tsunami’s force.

  He dodged past Hugh’s team as they fought to get back up from the combined damage their sudden descent and the explosion had caused.

  None of that mattered.

  Cade had to get to that tree—namely, to the thing it held in its clutches. It called to him on a soul level, screaming for him to free it from this vile magic of Life. The thorned roots put up a pitiful fight, and he shoved them aside with a quick burst of scorching wind, his silver core more than up to the task. His bracers heated along his forearms as he reached for the red membrane. The bricks he remembered were positioned here had fallen away.

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  He didn’t hesitate.

  Cade punched forward with all of his might, encasing his fist with flames and wind. A thin crack formed where his hand met the surface of this semi-transparent substance. It was remarkably sturdy, but that barely deterred him. He would get through this. He would free what was imprisoned here. His core flooded with magic at a rate he’d never experienced before.

  Cade punched again.

  More magic flooded his veins.

  He was alive with the destructive force. Every new crack sent a fresh wave of energy through his body. The ground rumbled fiercely, but he ignored it. With a yell, he slammed his fist into the red wall, and it finally shattered into millions of tiny rubies no longer than his thumbnail. The musty stench of sweat and sulfur wafted from the opening. His hand remained where it had struck through the barrier, his breaths coming in quick gasps.

  Something moved inside. Before he knew it, a thin humanoid form fell out of the gap he’d made, hundreds of tiny dead vines that looked eerily like chains ripped off of the form. Cade caught the person, and it was only then that he noticed that it was a woman.

  A very, very, naked woman.

  Her thin body was emaciated, with dry skin and strange red and black hair that fell long past her thin shoulders and waist. Cade held her gently, the shock of the odd turn of events briefly rooting him in place.

  She looked up at him, but her eyes glowed like an inferno. There were no whites to them, nor irises—just a surreal red glow. Tears of fire cascaded down her cheeks, and she smiled weakly.

  For someone terrifying enough to lock away in such a dreadful place, she looked so… vulnerable.

  “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!”

  Life’s scream thundered through the sky. Her voice boomed painfully across the arena, the pressure of it enough to ripple the dust that was still settling around him.

  “WE WERE SO CLOSE! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE YOU IDIOTIC WORM?!”

  Cade’s eyes snapped upward just in time to catch the spectacle of a green comet hurtling earthward. It slammed into the ground at the tree’s edge with all the grace of a dragon doing ballet.

  Gone was the ethereal majesty that usually clung to the goddess. Dark bags hung beneath her eyes. Those bright green orbs, usually so full of divine wisdom or whatever bullshit gods peddled these days, darted around as she inspected the damage.

  Then her gaze locked onto Cade’s, and something shifted. The panic gave way to a painfully ugly scowl. In that moment, the goddess of Life, most powerful of all the deities that plagued this land, looked human. A bitter, vain, old woman. . Cade couldn’t help but feel a twisted sort of satisfaction.

  “YOU,” she hissed. “I CAN SMELL HER INFLUENCE ON YOU, AS WELL AS THAT SNAKE OF A LICH. WHAT. HAVE. YOU. DONE?!”

  The deity’s glowing eyes shifted to Cade’s backpack, and they flared with unrestrained horror.

  “GIVE IT BACK!”

  She didn’t wait for him to obey. Life was a blur. Cade didn’t even have a chance to flinch before she was on top of him.

  Before she could grab his pack, however, she was repelled by a red barrier. The unmistakable scent of wet grass after a thunderstorm spread from the conjured shield, but it dissipated just as rapidly as it had appeared.

  “I WILL KILL YOU ALL FOR THIS INSOLENCE! I AM LIFE! I AM QUEEN OVER ALL OF YOU WORTHLESS INSECTS! I GAVE YOU LIFE! I CAN AND WILL TAKE IT BACK JUST AS EASILY!”

  Life screamed, and her golden dress fell awkwardly across one shoulder. The flowery laurel crown she wore dropped over one of her eyes as she spat at him.

  “NO.”

  The word pulsed through the clearing like a war drum, even though it was hardly more than a hoarse whisper. Cade looked down, alarm and surprise coursing through him at the emaciated woman’s response.

  Cade instinctively shifted her away from Life, using his own body as protection.

  The son of Ruin watched as red energy crackled across her skin, and where it touched the emaciation fled. Magma started to coat every inch of her form, and soon she was too warm for even Cade to hold. He set her down as gently as he could, but there was no longer any visible weakness to be seen from this stranger.

  “NO?! HOW DARE YOU ADDRESS ME LIKE THAT, YOU—”

  The glowing captive waved her hand, and Life flew into the far wall of the arena with a deafening crash. A crater erupted where the deity collided with the sandstone, and the entire colosseum shook at the impact.

  It was then that he felt a familiar surge of magic.

  Her magic.

  Cade knew this woman. Or, rather, he knew the power that flooded through her. It was the same energy that coursed through his veins and yearned to be close to this strange and dangerous person with every fiber of his being.

  The young thief watched in awe as she rolled her shoulders, and the luster returned to her red and black hair. It blazed to life, a fire radiating from her regal head, and she shook it out with wild abandon. Flames erupted across its edges, and her lips broke into a beautiful, perfect, wicked smile.

  No one moved.

  Even Hugh and his team were too enraptured by this newcomer to slip away or pull some sort of sneak attack. Cade’s team was equally immobile. No one remained in the stands to witness whatever happened next.

  All were still in the face of this divine presence.

  The reverie was broken when Life re-emerged from the crater. She hovered off the ground, lifted by her magic, and floated toward them. Her neck cracked ominously as she glared in Cade’s direction.

  The empress of fire and glory ignored the levitating goddess. Instead, she grazed her barely taloned fingertips along the bark of the massive, thorned oak tree. Golden flames scorched the tree where her hand passed, and four long lines were scarred into the magical trunk.

  “IT’S BEEN SOME TIME, LITTLE SISTER.”

  The nice magma lady spoke in a sultry voice. Cade shuddered at his proximity to the queen of his magic. He could feel it with a certainty that bordered on primal instinct.

  Whatever his core was made of, she was the origin of it.

  “DON’T CALL ME THAT, YOU VILE WITCH. YOU ARE AN ABOMINATION!”

  Life screamed in a whining tone that grated on Cade’s nerves.

  Movement to their left caught his attention, and a pit formed in his gut at the sight of the timid wood elf he saw shuffling toward them.

  A cloud parted above and illuminated Meadow as she rushed to bow at Life’s feet. Though her voice wavered, there was genuine concern in her words. “My Lady, Life! Are—are you alright?”

  Life turned to the wood elf impatiently, hand raised to strike at her, but a rich and mirthless laugh cut through the interaction. Everyone turned to see the fiery woman clutch at her gut as she laughed hysterically. Thin streams of fire dripped from the edges of her eyes, and she wiped them away with the back of her obsidian hand.

  “WHAT DID SHE CALL YOU, LITTLE SISTER?”

  Cade was surprised to see rage enter Meadow’s gaze at the way her queen was addressed. “She is Life incarnate, the mother of all living things that think and breathe and move in this world. You will show her the respect she deserves, even if you are also a goddess.”

  The wild cackles only intensified at Meadow’s statement.

  The woman pointed a razor-sharp finger at Life. “YOU TOOK UP LIFE’S MANTLE?! ALL THIS TIME? WHAT’S YOUR LOVER BEEN DOING, THEN? SLINKING IN THE SHADOWS LIKE THE OBEDIENT LITTLE DOG THAT HE IS?”

  “What… What is she talking about, my Lady Life?” Meadow inquired with a bowed head.

  Cade, however, pieced it all together.

  A terrible weight settled onto his shoulders as he realized the full extent of the situation. He surreptitiously slipped his hand into his pocket and felt for the focal stone there, but was horrified to find a hole cut through his pocket. His eyes scanned for the small marble, but it was nowhere to be seen through the damage the fallen tower and emergent tree had wrought on the arena floor.

  With slightly twitching fingers, he started to signal to his team to get ready. He’d explain his suspicions later. He peered over his shoulder and studied their faces to see if they understood him, and Orro nodded. The assassin leaned to the side, whispering something to Rayka, who passed the message along to the others.

  Off to the side, he noticed Hugh was doing much the same.

  The fiery woman got a hold of her bitter laughter and wiped away a fiery tear.

  “THAT IS NOT LIFE, YOU POOR GIRL. YOUR PRECIOUS QUEEN, YOUR GODDESS, HAS LIED TO YOU ALL.”

  “But…” Meadow frowned and glanced up again at her deity. “But who…”

  The woman pointed at the fallen goddess before her as a vicious grin spread across her dark features. “THAT IS MY SISTER, CREATION.”

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