Chapter Eighty-Five:

  “Ice Over Fire”

  Hex stood on the other side of the roiling lava moat, the molten glow painting her in shades of dawn and dusk. The heat lashed at her skin, but she didn’t move. Didn’t flinch. She watched, silent, waiting, her fingers rested lightly at her sides, poised, patient, as if she had all the time in the world.

  Across the inferno, they stood. The ones who had taken everything from her. The ones who had killed her brothers.

  Her gaze locked onto the girl with the wolf, the girl who protected the Guardian of Ice. That was their key. Their way across the fire.

  And just as she had expected, the girl stepped forward. Raya’s hands lifted as she called on the power of her gemstone. The air around her shimmered with cold, frost curling outward from her fingertips. Ani’s paws pressed into the scorched ground, his glow pulsing brighter, brighter...

  Ice cracked through the heat.

  A bridge formed beneath them, spreading in jagged sheets of pure frost, hissing as it met the unbearable fire below. Steam billowed upward in thick, rolling clouds, obscuring them for a moment before the wind carried it away.

  Hex didn’t move. Didn’t make a sound.

  She waited.

  Let them cross. Let them come closer.

  Her chance would come.

  Steam still drifted from the frozen bridge, the ice glowing faintly under the reflected firelight. The path ahead was thin, jagged in places, but it held firm, the heat of the molten moat hissing where the two elements met.

  Asha gave Raya a pat on the back, then grinned. "Not bad, Raya."

  Ani huffed loudly at her side.

  "Oh, fine. And you too, Ani," she added with a smirk, giving the wolf a quick rub between the ears.

  Ankit let out a sharp whistle, his eyes scanning the bridge from end to end. "Damn. Watching ice freeze molten lava like that? That’s… I mean, that’s just ridiculous."

  Leo nodded once, satisfied. "Good job, kid."

  Raya exhaled, steadying herself, but Ani stood firm beside her, his icy glow steady and cool.

  Emily was already moving, checking the area ahead. "Alright, everyone, expect that he knows we're here. Expect anything."

  Lucinda planted her feet, her grip tightening around her staff. If there was ever a time to prepare, it was now. She raised her free hand, reciting the incantation under her breath. "Protection."

  A soft silver shimmer spread outward, enveloping them all in a faint glow before fading into their skin. Yet again, it wasn’t much, but it was something.

  Emily took the first step onto the ice. It didn’t crack. It didn’t shift.

  One by one, they followed, beginning their treacherous crossing over the frozen flames.

  Each step was a battle for balance, the frozen bridge slick and untrustworthy beneath them.

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  The frozen bridge groaned, the unnatural cold battling against the searing heat below. Steam rose in thick waves, clouding their vision, making every step a gamble. The surface, slick and unforgiving, left no room for hesitation.

  And then, a misstep.

  A sharp gasp cut through the air as Ankit’s foot slid out from under him. His balance shattered in an instant, his body tilting sideways, too fast, too sudden. He barely had time to reach out before the ice met empty air, gravity pulling him over the edge.

  The lava below surged hungrily, writhing and convulsing as if it sensed him. A living thing, waiting to claim its prey.

  But before he could plummet into the inferno, a hand snapped around his wrist.

  Leo.

  His grip was iron, his stance locked as he threw his weight backward, muscles barely straining to keep Ankit from being swallowed whole. But the lava wasn’t just waiting, it was reaching. A tendril of fire lashed upward, wrapping around Ankit’s boot, searing into the leather as it tried to drag him down.

  Ankit gritted his teeth against the burn. "Not how I wanted to go, man."

  Leo growled, pulling harder. "Then stop talking and climb!"

  Emily dropped to her knees, grabbing onto Ankit’s arm to help, the ice biting into her knees. The flames burning into her hands. With one final heave, they ripped him free, the fire snapping back like a serpent denied its meal.

  Ankit sprawled onto the bridge, breathing hard, his boot still smoldering. "Yeah. No. I officially hate this place."

  "You and me both," Asha muttered.

  No one dared another misstep.

  And then, as they reached the other side, the steam cleared.

  And they saw her.

  Hex stood waiting, poised, patient. Gold and ice, fire and shadow. Her face was a mask of cold perfection, smooth as sculpted porcelain, untouched by the chaos around her, her golden markings catching the dim glow of the palace behind her. The wind carried flecks of frost and ember around her, a silent storm of opposing forces.

  Her eyes lifted to meet theirs.

  She smiled.

  Ankit was the first to speak, but the others were already moving, already preparing.

  Leo’s fists blazed to life, blue fire curling around his knuckles like something alive. Asha pulled a vial from her belt, the liquid inside bubbling and writhing, a deep, unnatural purple. Emily drew an arrow from her quiver, knocking it without a word, her gaze locked on the figure before them.

  Ankit exhaled sharply. "Great. Not her again. Anyone but her."

  Hex did not move. Did not flinch. If she had heard him, she gave no sign. Her eyes traced their weapons, their readiness, but no amusement touched her features. No fear, either.

  “I do not wish to fight you,” she said simply.

  Emily’s grip on her bow didn’t loosen. None of them relaxed.

  Lucinda’s voice was measured, steady but cautious. "Then what do you wish?"

  Hex’s gaze drifted past them, settling somewhere distant, somewhere far beyond the present moment. “You are not the ones I blame for my brothers’ deaths. The one I blame is the same one you wish to stop. My father.”

  Emily hesitated, scanning the others. She wanted to believe her. They all did.

  But trust was a luxury they couldn’t afford.

  Emily’s voice was sharp. "What makes you think we would ever trust you?"

  Hex’s expression didn’t harden, didn’t shift into the cold mask they had come to expect. Instead, something else took its place, something raw, something fragile. Something real.

  "I have known nothing but pain and torture. Nothing but being the daughter of that monster. I only wish to remove myself from under his boot."

  For the first time, her gaze met Emily’s, not as an opponent, not as a deceiver, but as something else entirely.

  A single tear slipped down her cheek, carving a streak through the gold that had once seemed untouchable.

  Her voice was quiet when she spoke again. "Would you really deny a child born into that a chance at escape?

  Emily was the first to lower her weapon. Slowly, she slid the arrow back into her quiver, her eyes never leaving Hex.

  The others hesitated, the tension still thick between them, but one by one, they followed her lead. Leo let the fire around his fists die out. Asha sighed, rolling the vial of bubbling liquid between her fingers before tucking it back into her pouch. Even Ankit, creeped out the most by her, eased his stance, though his fingers still hovered near his daggers.

  Asha pointed at Hex, her voice dry. "If you try anything, kid, I swear to this Goddess of yours... "

  Hex tilted her head slightly, as if stating something obvious. "You mean my mother."

  The words crashed into them like a sledgehammer.

  "YOUR MOTHER?!" they all blurted at once.

  Hex folded her arms. "Yes, my mother. You didn't know?"

  Raya shook her head, her mind racing. "If your mother is... then does that make Arlo and the other Guardians...?”

  "My siblings," Hex confirmed. "Yes."

  Asha exhaled sharply. "So Sterling is the father of...?”

  Hex didn’t let her finish. "The Guardians, yes. It’s complicated, and there is no time for a history lesson. Come, I will show you a way into the palace my father doesn’t know about."

  Reluctantly, all giving weary glances at one another, they followed.