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Something cold pressed to her mouth, then liquid tipped back into her throat. She tried to make herself swallow, choking and sputtering.

“You have to fight it,” Hadima begged, but Iryana just wanted the pain to stop. Couldn’t think of anything other than the blissful relief of it all being over.

“I don’t,” Iryana gasped, the words traveling up her throat like knives, “know if I can.”

“Don’t leave us,” Pyetar cried, his deep voice cracking.

She could faintly hear the grinding of plants and her sister’s mumbling over the throbbing in her ears. Of her head.

“It hurts,” she cried, tears pouring down her cheeks.

“Don’t make all the effort I’ve put into befriending you go to waste!” That was Vaneshta, somewhere by her feet.

Another wave of pain rocked through her, and Iryana sobbed, heaving against Pyetar’s side.

Someone tilted her head back and poured something warm and earthy into her mouth. Her body fought the urge to swallow, gagging. A hand was slapped over her mouth. She recognized Hadima’s slender fingers on her cheek.

“You have to swallow this,” her sister’s voice begged. Something wet dripped onto her burning cheeks. “Think of Misha. She needs you. Your baby sister needs you. Your sisters need you.”

Misha.

Pain tore into her again, but it wasn’t her fighting magics. She’d already abandoned her sister. She couldn’t leave Misha again. Couldn’t do that to her.

She thought of her sisters as she forced herself to swallow, body shaking. She thought of Misha when she was a little girl who would curl up against her at night, and fought back against her magic. It felt like trying to smother an innate part of herself, and it hurt, took all the energy she had left and more. The more she forced down the magics, the less they thrashed and cut her.

She was barely conscious, limp as her entire being throbbed with pain.

“She’s stable,” Hadima said sometime later. “Somewhat… I don’t know for how long, though.”

“We need to get her to the gods.” That was Pyetar’s voice. Lips pressed against her forehead.

Then she was being moved, letting out a soft cry as she was draped over something hard. Hands gripped her thighs, and then she was jostling again.

Walking. She was on someone’s back, and they were walking.

“I’ve got you,” Pyetar whispered, and it was the last thing she heard before everything went black.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Everything was an endless black sea of pain and cold. She didn’t know if she was dead or alive, if she was even connected to her body anymore. But she tried to fight. Tried to go back to her friends. To Pyetar. To her sisters.

After what felt like an eternity, the pain began to wane. She slowly regained her senses, her magic settling inside her. Begrudgingly calming. She felt a strange presence, safe and warm. It wasn’t just better; the pain was gone. She hadn’t felt so at ease in her body for months. Since before her second forging.

Her eyes cracked open.

Above her was a goddess, pale blonde hair pooling around them as she leaned over Iryana. Unnaturally blue eyes staring down at her softly.

“Voordiza?” Iryana croaked.

The goddess smiled. “There we go.”

“She’s going to be okay?” Pyetar’s deep voice demanded from nearby. His voice echoed strangely.

“It’s settled?” Hadima added before Voordiza could answer. “For good?”

“I did the best I could.” Voordiza offered a sympathetic smile as she looked down at Iryana. She wasn’t quite processing the words.

“What does that mean?” Pyetar bit out.