Jack straightens, determination zing in his eyes. Fury lowers hi head in grim eptance. But all I can think is that something is wrong.

    Horribly, horribly wrong.

    Because my mother is too calm. Too certain. And my heart whispers the truth I can’t bear to say aloud–if the ne is destroyed with both souls trapped inside, then Mother will die alongside Malik. Right… Right?

    “Everyone, please leave. I need to speak with Kali alone,” Mother says. It’s the first time she’s ever called me Kali instead of Maya and the sound of it only makes the knot in my stomach twist ighter.

    Jack lingers, his eyes full of worry, before he bends to press a soft kiss against my lips. It’s brief, but it steadies me. Fury and Nora wheel his father out, whispering quietly as the heavy door closes with a dull thud that echoes far too loudly in my ears.

    And then it’s just us.

    Mother rises with slow grace, though I notice the tremor in her hard as she straightens her gown. She crosses the room and sits beside me, towering herself carefully, as though even the weight of her own body is too much. My heart squeezes at how tired she looks. She pulls me gently until my head rests against her chest. I hear her heartbeat–steady, warm, but not as strong as it should be.

    “I understand your fears,” she says softly, stroking my hair.

    I jolt up, meeting her eyes, and shake my head hard enough that strands whip across my face. “No, you don’t, Mother. You don’t understand my fears, because if you did–you wouldn’t take this risk.” My voice cracks, breaking under the storm inside me.” For heaven’s sake, we just found each other again, and now we’re about to be separated for life if things don’t go ording to

    n.”

    Her lips tremble, but she doesn’t look away. “That’s exactly why we should make the most of the time now. You think I want to do this because I don’t value my life?” She cups my cheek, her palm cool against my flushed skin. “I’m doing this for you–for Maya. What if Malikes again to harm you or my grandchild? How could I live with myself if I didn’t act?”

    At the mention of Malik harming my baby, a shiver runs down my spine. I picture his cruel smile, his hand tightening on the ne that drains her life bit by bit, and bile rises in my throat.

    ontinues, her voice a mix of steel and sorrow. “I know you’re worried I

    “You don’t understand how dangerous he is,” she might die in the process. But Kali… I am Queen for a reason.”

    Her attempt at firmness only rips me apart further. “You’re not invincible!” I snap, my fists clenching in myp. “He’s already drawing power from your ne–I can see it in your face. You’re weaker than you were yesterday. Every time he uses it, it’s like he’s stealing pieces of you!”

    She sighs, long and tired, then–out of nowhere–smiles. “Well, least he hasn’t stolen my good looks yet. Imagine me wrinkled and gray overnight.” She chuckles lightly, like she’s trying to pull me into her joke.

    I re at her, my throat burning. “That’s not funny.”

    “Maybe not,” she admits, her hand slipping over mine, “butughter makes the fear smaller. And I don’t want you to look back and only remember me as someone who made you cry,”

    My eyes blur with tears I refuse to let fall. I can’t let them becaus if they start, they won’t stop. “You’re impossible,” I whisperb, /bshaking my head, but my lips twitch despite myself.

    “That’s my girl,” she says, pressing a kiss to the top of my hair. “ow… let’s make the most of our time. I want to show you everything I’ve nned for us once we reach the pce. You’ll love it, I promise.”

    1 swallow the lump in my throat and nod, even though my chest tels like it’s splintering apart. “Then let’s make the most of it, Mum. Every second.”

    Her smile softens, but her eyes flicker with something I can’t quite ce–fear, maybe. Or resignation.

    “Yes,” she says, squeezing my hand. “Every second. Because once