I found Luke high on the peak of a mountain overlooking the rest of the horde. The air was thin, and the wind beat at my dress as I slid off Fable’s back, approaching him slowly. He leaned against a rock, his arms crossed, his gaze sweeping across the valley below.

I came up beside him, my shoulder brushing his arm. My tail swished shyly against his. He smiled down at me, but it was a distant smile. His thoughts were far away.

"What are you thinking?" I asked.

"Hmm?"

I curled my tail around his leg, leaning into him. "You were just thinking about something. What is it?"

"Oh." His smile faded, and he let out a breath. "Just thinking that, after everything, we’re almost there. One battle after the next, one shard taken, one enemy slain. Please, tell me you found a way?"

I didn’t answer immediately, reaching and pushing my hand between his arm and side, gripping the crook of his arm. He let me tug his elbow, uncrossing his arms. I ran my hand down his forearm, tracing a circle around his palm before lacing my fingers through his.

"It wasn’t fair of you to ask me that," I murmured, leaning my head against his upper arm. "But...I think so."

"You did?"

His wonder made my tail twitch with pride. I quelled it, forcing myself to be serious. "But Luke, it’s going to be hard. Are you...Are you going to be there to help me?"

He hesitated, his flicking, before sighing. "I can’t. To pull this off, we have to strike as many locations as possible. Every apostle and demon lord has their assignment, and I’m no exception."

I’d already known the answer, but my heart still sank. "Where are you going to attack?"

"Radia."

The name hung between us, a heavy weight that drove my head down, against him. My tail tightened its grip on his leg, and my voice dropped to a whisper. "You’re going alone?"

"Not to the Divine Throne. That will take everyone, or at least most of us, to break. But Radia has the strongest army with the most sun magic users. If we leave them to rally, they’ll have time to rally with the church, and any chance of ending this quickly will vanish."

"But...isn’t it dangerous? There will be at least one ninth-level."

"I’m counting on it. We need to kill as many of them as we can, or else they’ll retreat to the Divine Throne. Ninth-level enemies get harder to kill when they’re banded together and can cover each other’s weaknesses. With the element of surprise, I’m confident I can kill an isolated mage or warrior. My power isn’t far behind there, and my curses are certain to make up the difference. I’m more worried about what happens if one of the other apostles encounters one. Using the information we gathered about their deployment through your visions, I tried to plan it out so the demon lords would face them. Their experience and unique abilities give them the best chance of winning, but at the very least, they won’t die easy, and stall them from returning to support the Divine Throne in time."

I squeezed his hand, my fingers pressing against his, my eyes still fixed on the ground. "Be careful."

"I will," he murmured, taking my arm with his other hand, gently pulling me about so I rested against his chest. He stroked my hair, his other hand resting on my lower back, just above my tail. "Xiviyah, I want you to be safe, too. And so, I need you to do something for me."

I looked up into his eyes, shivering at the intensity of his gaze.

"After you play your part, I want you to stay at Darkreign, or even better yet, retreat to Sylvarus. There’s too much we don’t know and can’t guess at. Rash’alon is still out there, and the Fate God must be getting desperate. Those two forces wills top at nothing to claim your divinity."

"I’m not going to leave you," I protested.

"Shhh, just listen," he whispered, bringing his hand around my head, cupping my cheek. "I can’t do what I must if I’m worried about you, and I’m not going to have the time or strength to protect you. The infernal horde is strong enough to win this on their own, and once we establish a foothold, we’ll only grow stronger as demon gates bring reinforcements. You’re the only one who can break the world barrier and initiate the invasion, but after that, you can fade into the background. You don’t have to get hurt anymore. You don’t have to return to that place. I know how much that scares you."

It did, more than anything. My heart pounded at the mere thought of returning to the depths of Radia, to that darkness of the Divine Throne. Every inquisitor, every Father, every hero would be gathered there to defend against the demon hordes. They would kill me without hesitation, or worse, capture me. What had been done to me before would be but a shadow of things to come.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block the sudden surge of memories that swelled. The fire, the chains, the knives. Luke’s arms drew tighter around me, and I gripped his tunic, trusting myself to his embrace.

"See? You’re shaking already," Luke murmured, kissing the top of my head. "It’s alright, Xiviyah. I’ll protect you. I’ll make sure that, even when I’m gone, no one will be alive who can hurt you. You can sleep easy in your starlit realm and never have to worry about another war."

"Please, don’t say that." I shivered despite his warmth enveloping me. "Don’t pretend. You’re not doing this for me."

He was quiet at that, his tail going rigid against mine. "But I...that doesn’t change anything, does it? I love you, XIviyah. I want you to be safe and happy, no matter what else happens."

"Yeah, you’re right," I mumbled, lowering my head, resting my forehead against his chest. I didn’t want him to see the glisten in my eyes, the tears I was barely holding back.

"Thank goodness," he murmured, "I was worried you wouldn’t understand."

He sounded so relieved, so sure, that I knew there was no point in saying anything more. I would play my role, and he would play his, and when the dust settled, things would be as they were meant to be. I would make peace with that, just as I’d vowed since the beginning. There was no reason to be selfish, to ask for more than was given. If I really loved Luke, how could I not support his greatest desire?

I managed a nod and a faint, watery smile, but I couldn’t bring myself to look up. We stayed like that for a while, until my tears dried and the tension left me in a long, shuddering breath. Only then did I pull back, and he crooked a finger under my chin, his thumb brushing my jaw. He kissed me softly, and I let him, let the warmth of his lips wash over me. I tried to bury my heart in it, in him, and for the most part, succeeded.

"I love you," I whispered, breaking away. "If that’s what you want from me, if that’s what you need me to do, I’ll do it."

He smiled, the relief in his eyes tugging at my heartstrings. "Thank you. You haven o idea what this means to me."

He let go of my chin and stepped back, his hand falling away from my lower back. My dress fell against my tail, and I tucked it between my legs.

"I should go. The Council will need my report. I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces when I tell them the plan’s a go," he said, chuckling to himself. "I’ll meet you later, Xiviyah. Ready your forces. We’ll strike on the night of the new moon, a week from now."

I nodded, my heart aching as he pulled away, flying down from the misty peak. I stood there, alone, watching as he disappeared, swallowed by the seething currents of infernal mana.

"Xiviyah? Are you up here?"

I turned at R’lissea’s unexpected voice, tears gathering again as I found her walking closer, just a few steps away. Every instinct urged me to run to her and fall into her embrace, to let everything out, to untangle the heavy mess of emotions in my chest. But as I took a step, Fable growled softly, his tail curling around me, holding me back. A chill ran down my back.

"I can’t believe that guy," R’lissea said, coming to stop beside me, staring after Luke with a frown. "Want to talk about it?"

"Please, stop," I whispered, hugging myself. "R’lissea’s in Haven."

She looked at me, tilting her head. Curious, yet studying. I turned away, biting my lip hard enough that I let out a small whimper.

R’lissea’s face cracked in a wide, uncharacteristic smile, and her form shimmered, growing taller, her curves filling out, a mischievous sparkle shining in eyes that were no longer green. In the blink of an eye, Jessia stood next to me. Though I’d known, I still recoiled at such close proximity.

"Aww, you caught me," she said, raising her arms dramatically. "But I guess this works, too. It’s been a while since we’ve had a good chat."