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“Sirena,” Alex chided, disappointment etched in the lines of his face.
“No, listen.” Her voice was firm. “I’m sorry about your friend. I really am. But none of you are to blame for this, and you know that. This Tycho guy, he made a choice,” she said, hard gaze piercing us. “A choice to not lie around, moan, whine, or give up. He chose to fight to the last, and it washis choice.
“I heard him on the beach, saying he could sense his death coming. I think... he already knew he wasn’t going to make it to the end, and still he fought on. His last act in this world was to stand beside his friends and fight for what he believed was right, so don’t cheapen that sacrifice by listing all the ways he could’ve quit or let you die to save himself.
“This man was no coward or quitter. I don’t respect much, but I do respect a soldier. A hero.” She tipped her head to him. “So stop your wailing and carrying on, and give him the final send-off he deserves.”
Nobody moved or spoke. Then Theron dropped to one knee.
“Farewell, my friend, my comrade.” He gently touched two fingers to Tycho’s brow. “See you in Elysium.”
Slowly, stiffly, achingly, my friends joined him—falling to their knees to repeat a ritual I didn’t know or understand, but touched me in the deep, dark part of myself that had started to shrivel.
Falling beside him, I did the same. “Farewell, my friend,” I whispered. “I’m sorry we couldn’t stir up mischief together in this life. I promise we will in the next one.
“See you in Elysium.”
I moved back, holding my arms tightly. They were shaking from more than emotion.
Alex moved in to pay his respects, and then surprisingly, so did Sirena. When she was done, she moved back to a respectful distance—joining our small, silent circle.
“What do we do now?” Nitsa’s voice was barely more than a rasp. “We can’t leave him.”
“We can’t take him either.” Daciana roughly rubbed her eyes. “He deserves dignity in death. Not to be carted around like a knapsack. He deserves rest now. And peace.”
I nodded slow. “I know what to do.” I turned my gaze to someone I couldn’t see. “Dad, get Sebastian, please. Tell him what happened, and that we need him to return Tycho to his family. Thank you.”
“Good.” Ionna rocked back and forth, blinking rapidly to stave off tears. “That’s a good idea, thank you. Sebastian will take care of him.”
“Guys?” Jason stepped forward and his leg jerked, nearly pulling the world out from under him. “I h-hate to do this, but we can’t stop.” He breathed heavy. “Two more traps. Two more keys. No more time to beat this poison. We have to go.”
No one spoke in agreement. Quietly we shuffled out, saying goodbye to our friend for the final time.
WE DROPPED ONTO A ROCKYoutcropping and threw ourselves back, clutching the mountain face. We were on a ledge.
Carefully, I stepped forward, peering over the side. My breaths quickened.
A ledge was the only thing keeping us from a hundred-foot drop into the crashing, rolling seas below.
Moisture hung thick in the air—frizzing my hair and filling my lungs. To move was to push through soupy, swampy atmosphere that was pregnant with the promise of rain as the looming, black clouds blocked out any hope of sun.
“What now?” Ionna asked dully. She was completely pale and washed out, like all the color had gone out of her when it left the world.
“We can’t... go down... so...” Nitsa slumped forward. Getting to the end of the sentence was more energy than she could spare.
“So we have to go up,” Alex finished, towing her in. He hugged her, rubbing her shoulders. Tears sprang to her eyes. “In fact, I think I see something at the top.”
“I’ll get it,” Sirena said. “I want out of this fucking place.”
I never agreed with her more.
Sirena jumped off the ledge, but a griffin took off, blasting us back with the power of its wingspeed. She soared to the top of the mountain and hovered around a strange, silver figure that I couldn’t make out.
Light burst in my eyes, illuminating the night sky. Streaking across the clouds, lightning struck Sirena, knocking her out of the air. She plummeted into the inky dark waters below—gone.
“Sirena!” Alex bolted.
Theron and Jason tackled him, stopping him jumping over the edge.
