For the next three days, Valerie's house became the headquarters of the Fist, as she planned her attack on Silva and the Fractus's camp in the Atacama Desert. It reminded her of planning for the battle against the Fractus a year ago, until she saw the empty places at her kitchen table that her father and Gideon had occupied.

Valerie never missed them more, as everyone looked to her for final approval on battle plans. Henry, Thai, and her friends advised as best they could, but it wasn't the same as having a wiser head to rely on.

And always, in the back of her mind, was the thought of her mother encased in stone, waiting for eternity for a freedom that would never come. It was a steep price to pay for the possibility that her leadership was necessary to expel the Fractus from Earth.

Emin enjoyed the bustle of planning and the constant stream of visitors, and seeing some of his grief lift was one of the few comforts Valerie had.

Valerie had just finished talking with Kanti through a hand mirror when a strange, almost irresistible impulse came over her to leave her house. It reminded her of when Sanguina or Kellen had controlled her mind, except that she wasn't afraid.

Instead, she was drawn toward something sweet that tugged at the part of her that was connected with Darling. He needed her. She walked and then ran deeper and deeper into the woods. The path wound by the Lake of Knowledge, and she found herself on the hidden path that she had last walked with Henry to find Azra when Clarabelle had been born.

Her heart was warm in her chest, and she saw a faint red glow under her shirt. She'd seen something like it before—Darling's heart pulsed red when he healed someone with his vivicus power.

She'd been so connected to him since she'd saved Henry that she hadn't realized that she hadn't actually seen him in over a year. Guilt followed the realization, and she swallowed it down.

As she continued to run, the gold faded from the bark of the trees, and she knew she was in the remote reaches of Messina. She recognized the grove where Clarabelle was born. She slowed her steps and nearly tripped over a ball of fur on the ground.

"Darling?" she asked.

The little creature barely resembled the Darling she knew. His gold fur had lost its shine, but his eyes were more aware than she'd ever seen. They sparked with something like intelligence.

"You heard my call." Darling's voice was nothing like the little squeaks that she'd been used to. It was deep and powerful, and utterly shocking.

"I didn't know you could talk," Valerie blurted.

"I think it's because this is the end," he said. "My life has been a hazy dream to me for so long, and now I am awake."

Valerie moved to his side. "I'm here. I'll use my power to—"

Darling rested a paw on her hand. "No, please. I am grateful that my time to be absorbed into the ether has come at last. I did not call you for that."

"I'm glad you let me be with you."

"You are the only person I know. All of the other interactions I've had, even before my powers stripped my mind, have been burned away, save yours. For a few months now, my mind has slowly returned to me, and I hoped it meant that I'd fulfilled my duty as vivicus at last."

"Is that why we've been connected?" she asked.

"Indeed. Vivicus are always linked heart-to-heart and mind-to-mind. But while my mind was a blank, there could be no connection."

Valerie rapidly blinked back her tears, but they were less bitter than the ones she'd shed for Dulcea, or her father. It was different when someone went peacefully, ready for the ether, rather than ripped from life too soon.

Darling briefly touched Valerie's heart, which still glowed. "The tug that draws you to people in pain, urging you to ease their distress, will only go stronger until it consumes you. So cherish these days with the ones you love."

Valerie shuddered at his words. Was it a character flaw that she didn't want to be stripped of her consciousness, even if it meant helping people? "I want a life. I know it can't be a normal one, but I want to know it's happening."

"There is a way," Darling said. "But I was never able to discover it. The vivicus who called me to his passing said that I must burn out my power, rather than let it burn through me. Perhaps you will manage it."

The last of the shine in Darling's fur dulled, and with it, the light in his eyes.

"Darling?" she asked, but he only whimpered in return.

Valerie gathered him into her arms, and he snuggled into her chest. His glowing heart beat in sync with hers, until the pulses grew slower, and stopped.

A burst of power was released into the universe at his passing, but it was small, as if all of Darling's magic and essence had already been used up.

She cried for a long time, unable to let go of him. Her tears were for everyone she'd lost, and she didn't think they'd ever stop. At Henry's soft steps behind her, she gently put Darling on the ground.

"I came as soon as I knew," he said, sitting next to her. "You're not alone. You never are."

She rested her head on her brother's shoulder. "He helped thousands of people in his lifetime. But I was the only person he knew to call when his time came to die. He didn't even remember who his friends used to be."

"That won't be you."

"You can't promise that," Valerie said. "I'd rather be dead than alone."

"Is that why you've got everyone worried that you have a death wish?" he asked.

"Anyone who gets close to me is eventually going to get hurt when who I am is stripped away and nothing exists except my power."

"And your heart. Lots of people loved Darling because he was more than the sum of his magic. He was warm and funny. Remember how he'd make kids laugh when he cured them? He could have healed them and moved on to the next person in need, but he didn't. There was a piece of him there. And as long as there's a piece of you left, Valerie, there will be people who love you."

Henry and Valerie buried Darling together and returned home. They approached the gate to their garden, and inside, Valerie heard Emin talking with someone whose voice was familiar.

She gave Henry a questioning look, and he smiled. "It's about time you had some good news. Go see who's in our kitchen."

Valerie hurried inside. Sitting at her table, drinking tea with Emin on his knee, was Elden. His dark skin hadn't completely regained its gold accents, and his eyes were shadowed, but he was awake. Valerie couldn't stop herself from throwing her arms around him.

Emin giggled. "Why are you turning red, Uncle Elden?"

Valerie released him, to his obvious relief.

"I have come to thank you for your care of Emin," Elden said in his grave way. "And to learn what has happened while I slept."

After Emin was tucked into bed, Valerie told Elden what had happened over the past year, and what was ahead of them.

"My wife told me of how my mother used you," he said. "I trust it has not shaken your faith in my people."

"No. Though I'm glad you're back at the helm," she admitted.

"I will navigate the politics and strategy with the People of the Woods, but my skill in battle has waned. My magic is all but stripped from my soul. I have no more power than a human."

"It's your mind and support that I need the most. Thank you, Elden. I know your family must wish you could be done with this war."

"Mine are a warrior people, and we do not flinch from what must be done. My daughter will fight to regain Arden, and though I fear it, I am proud of her."

"There's something else." Valerie took the cylinder with her poppy from its hiding place under a floorboard in the kitchen. "Can you help Juniper learn how to use this to bind Earth's magic?"

Elden unscrewed the container and removed the poppy from inside. At his touch, it glowed more brightly, and Valerie felt a responding flicker within herself.

"I cannot guide him in this. My mother is the keeper of that knowledge. But I will go with Juniper to her jail cell myself so he may learn what he must."

"About Emin—"

"The choice of where he wishes to live will be his. But as skilled as you are at leading the Fist, are you ready to be a parent? I already think of him as a son."

Valerie thought of the sweet boy in the next room. The idea of taking care of him forever filled her with warmth. "With my vivicus power destroying my mind, I don't know how long I'll be capable of watching out for someone else."

Elden cocked his head to the side, examining her. "Not all vivicus have followed Darling's path."

"But most do, right?" Elden wouldn't meet her eyes, and Valerie knew his answer. "I'm not giving up. But I want Emin to have his best chance, and I think it's with you."

"Thank you," Elden said.

Elden left, and Valerie watched him as he made his way out of her garden and into the woods. She experienced a flicker of panic when she could no longer make out his form in the trees, as if he might disappear back into unconsciousness, unreachable.

In the middle of the night, Henry woke her. "Elle sent me a message through the Empathy Collective. We have to meet her right away."

Valerie rubbed her eyes and tied her hair back. After quickly dressing, they slipped out of the house without waking anyone inside.

"Lake of Knowledge?" she asked, and Henry nodded.

They jogged in silence, but with minds open to each other. As long as she had Henry to anchor her, could her mind really slip away?

They found Elle pacing the shores of the lake, chewing her lip. Her words tumbled out without her usual poise. "Will and I have never communicated mind-to-mind like you and Henry, but I think—I'm almost sure—of what he's trying to tell me."

Henry's voice was soothing as he moved closer to Elle. "It's okay. You don't have to be sure. Tell us what you think you're getting from Will."

"We have to attack the Fractus soon, or it will be too late. Reaper somehow got word from Gabriel of knowledge in the Akashic Records on how to harness the dormant power that the flame released when it went out. He's going to use it to remake how magic functions."

"That's possible?" Valerie couldn't fathom what Elle was saying.

Elle took a breath. "Reaper's power is to manipulate the very physics of how elements work. Magic is another element. With the help of all this additional power, he can make sure that magic is only passed to those he deems worthy. Essentially, he can snuff out the spark of magic that lives in us all, human and Conjuror alike, and amplify it in those he thinks are worthy."

"We knew we'd have to attack Reaper soon. This doesn't change our plans," Henry said.

"How much time do we have?" Valerie asked.

"He'll seize the power tomorrow as soon as darkness falls. At least, that's what I think Will is trying to tell me."

Henry sucked in a breath. "Less than a day."

Valerie's heart, which had been racing, slowed, and her mind sharpened into focus. "Thank you, Elle. You've given us a chance."

Elle's grin was fierce. "I'll see you on the battlefield."

The rest of the night was a blur, as Valerie and Henry spread the word to the generals of the Fist about the new timeline for the attack on Silva and the Atacama Desert.

Valerie had to redraw many of her plans because she didn't have the additional days she'd planned on to prepare. She'd never been less sure of victory, but the Fist would give the universe a chance.

By dawn, Valerie was alone in her kitchen with Chisisi. Everyone else had scattered to execute their assignments as she finalized the details on the Atacama front.

"I will keep the human soldiers Dr. Freeman has recruited away from the front lines, but their numbers will be an asset," Chisisi said.

Valerie forced herself not to rub her temples. "I wish we could spare them from this fight, but we must throw everything we have at the Fractus now. I'm starting to believe there won't be another fight if we don't have at least a partial victory tomorrow."

"We will slay Reaper, and the rest will follow," Chisisi said with confidence.

Ordering Reaper's execution wasn't as hard as she thought it would be, but it seemed wrong that the act wouldn't be performed by her own hand. If she wanted to avoid fulfilling Reaper's prophecy, it couldn't be.

"Maybe I'm fulfilling the prophecy in spirit, if not in fact, by ordering his death," she said.

"Your heart has not guided you in the wrong direction yet," Chisisi said. "Will young Juniper be ready to bind Earth's magic?"

"I hope so. He's with Elden and North now. He's nervous, but my instincts tell me he can do it."

"Then he will. I'll leave you now," Chisisi said, his attention caught by something over Valerie's shoulder.

Valerie followed his gaze and saw Cyrus standing in the doorframe. Cyrus's eyes were alive with a little of his old mischief. She hadn't seen that much warmth in them in a year.

"Come on," Cyrus said. "I've got a present for the battle tomorrow."

She followed him outside, into her garden. In the corner, she saw that a big boulder that was part of one of Oberon's old wards was glowing.

Cyrus shrugged. "Your destiny awaits."

Valerie approached the boulder and grinned when she saw the hilt of a golden sword sticking out from it.

"What are you waiting for? Don't you want to see if you're the one who can pull it out?" Cyrus teased.

Valerie grasped the hilt, and her hand was bathed in warm light. Gently, she pulled, and it slid effortlessly from the stone. She gasped as she examined the blade.

"Pathos! Cyrus, how did you repair it?"

Even the words of the prophecy binding her to Henry, Cyrus, and Kanti were elegantly etched into the blade.

"Pathos is gone. This is a new blade, made entirely of light. I tried to keep it in the spirit of Pathos, but with some tweaks that make it way better."

Valerie didn't laugh at Cyrus's swagger. Instead, she took some practice swings. It was lighter than Pathos, but had the same even balance. It fit in her hand like an extension of herself.

"It will glow for a thousand years, even in a place entirely devoid of light. Out in the world, it can continually recharge itself. It's unstoppable."

"How did you manage it?" she asked.

"All of the lightweavers lent me their power to make this a reality."

But Valerie examined him closely and saw that a little of his usual glow was absent. "There was a price, wasn't there?"

"If you're going to get all guilt-tripped about it, I'm not going to tell you."

"Okay."

"Fine, you convinced me. I had to sever a piece of my power in order to form this weapon," he admitted. When Valerie gasped at his words, he hurried to continue. "It's not like I don't have my magic or anything. When you saved me with your vivicus power, you enhanced my powers. I'm just giving you back what was yours to begin with."

Valerie swallowed twice to keep her tears from rising. "Thank you."

Cyrus shrugged. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for you."

Valerie hugged him, wishing she could pour everything she felt into his heart and fill the hole that she had put there. A hole that she was afraid would always be there.

"I love you," she said, even though she knew that for Cyrus, it would never be enough.

"I'm your best friend. I always will be. I won't leave you, Val," Cyrus said.

Valerie couldn't trust herself to speak without her voice breaking.

Cyrus reached out to brush her cheek, and then he cleared his throat. "Elle thinks this sword will gain me an invitation to Illyria if it helps end this war. I think I might like it down there, bringing light to the ocean's depths."

"Then I wouldn't see you anymore."

"That's kind of the idea. I'd visit, but I want you to live without feeling guilty every time we bump into each other. And that far away from you, maybe I'd find someone else. Miracles happen."

And they did. Valerie knew, because Cyrus had given her proof.