I looked at the eggs warily, my thoughts a jumbled mess. Dragon eggs, and close to hatching no less. Lissany broke the silence by asking the question that was foremost in my mind, and probably everyone else’s as well. “What do we do about them, Taelya?”

I sighed as I tried not to show just how much my Guardian’s question was shaking me up at the moment as the others glanced between me and the pile of eggs. This was up to me; it was my domain and thus, my decision. Something felt off though, the life coming from the eggs didn’t feel unnatural and there was some sort of spell on them that was quickly fading. Finally, I shook my head. “I don’t know, Liss. If these are more of Tiamat’s ‘children’ then the safest and more sensible course would be to just destroy them all now, before they can become a threat.”

“I’m sensing a ‘but’ here,” Nishalle said as she gripped my shoulder just firmly enough to be reassuring.

“But they’re babies, unborn babies, and I… don’t know if I could do that,” I said with another sigh. Then I clenched my teeth and fists, shaking my head as I came to a decision. “No. I won’t do that. Something feels different about them; I don’t feel that sense of wrongness that I usually feel from monsters or the other dragons that we’ve encountered. Usually, when something is unnatural and doesn’t belong in nature’s tapestry, we Fae can sense it immediately, especially Yseil’dhraí. Maybe I’m just not sensing it because they’re not born yet or because they can be taught another way but I won’t kill them before we know if they deserve it or not.”

My Tokh’dhraí sister furrowed her brow as she looked at the eggs. “Now that you mention it, Sis, I don’t feel anything like that either. There’s no sense of wrongness, danger, and chaos like I usually get when we’re fighting monsters.”

“Could it be…” Lilith half-whispered.

I turned to my would-be High Priestess and tried to look calmer than I felt as I asked, “Could it be what, Lilith?”

“The Drakan legacy,” the Succubus matriarch replied. “The Drakans were a race of draconic beings that considered themselves explorers and traveled between worlds using the ancient world-gates. Those gates are gone now, at least the ones on our world. Even the one that was still working before Danu created the Veil has been rendered useless by the ravages of time and human interference. The Drakans were intelligent, powerful, and possessed varied elemental abilities. They also lived for a very long time so they technically didn’t count as mortals.”

“Sounds like Tiamat’s kind of people,” Nishalle said with a frown.

Lilith nodded thoughtfully. “They were, or at least she thought. When they visited ancient Mesopotamia, Tiamat demanded that they, as draconic beings, worship and serve her as her children did. The Drakans believed in peaceful coexistence with others and wished only to explore though, so they refused to serve a Goddess of Chaos. In her fury at their refusal, Tiamat destroyed the world-gate that they had come from and slaughtered them down to the last living soul.”

“Umm… if she slaughtered them all, how can they have a legacy?” Lissany asked.

“It was rumored among the Gods at the time that she took all of the unhatched Drakan eggs and had Enki place them under a stasis spell until she was ready to use them during the apocalypse when she would turn an army upon the world and unleash the final chaos,” Sif explained. “That was before our time though. Well, except for Lilith.”

“Who is Enki?” my sister asked with a dark look. She probably wanted to know if this person was a God or a threat to me, and how she could counter them if they were.

Loki decided to field that question and reassure us that the deity in question was not a threat. “Enki was a God of the subterranean freshwater ocean, wisdom, magick, and the arts from Tiamat’s time. He was one of the first to be killed for his aspects since the Veil fell. Magick is a rare aspect, and many Gods would like to possess it. How certain are you about this Drakan story, Lilith?”

“Certain enough that I decided to create an army of Succubae for Inanna; to counter the plans of her archrival. Tiamat and Inanna fought many times and Tiamat loved the sound of her own voice,” the Succubus spat with a sneer. “She believed that whoever controlled the Drakans would control the skies when the apocalypse came.” Lilith then turned her gaze toward me with a pensive look on her face.

“Yes, I am well aware of Tiamat’s personality. Had she just killed me outright instead of gloating and trying to play with me like a cat with a toy mouse at first, then she might have actually killed me instead of the other way around,” I replied in distaste. “I don’t want to control anyone though. If these are truly sentient people then they deserve to decide their own fates. I think that they have been wronged enough already.”

“I did not think that You would want that, my Goddess,” she countered. “However, they are children without parents and they will need to be raised with love and care once they hatch. You can take this opportunity to ensure that they learn the values that you hold dear. Values that their parents held dear as well if what I have heard about their kind is true.”

“I don’t have time to raise forty baby Drakans if that is what they are. I have enough on my plate as it is,” I argued as I reached back, pulled Willow from her hiding place in my hood, and began to lovingly pet her to help both of us calm down a bit. “And whatever magic was used on these eggs is fading; it probably has been since Enki died. It won’t be long before the first of them are ready to hatch. Some look harder than the others though, probably from different clutches, so I don’t think they’ll all hatch at the same time.”

“I would suggest that You have some of my girls watch over the eggs until they hatch, my Goddess. When the first of them look ready to hatch, we can come to determine if they are Drakans or some sort of threat before there are too many of them. Then You can be on hand to see for Yourself. If they do need to be raised and taught right from wrong, then there are some from my brood who would be happy to do so for You, should You desire it,” Lilith suggested.

I considered the suggestion for a moment before nodding. I hadn’t known Lilith for long but she and her brood had made their loyalty to me abundantly clear, as well as their desire to serve and protect me in whatever ways that I needed. “Alright, Lilith, we’ll do it that way, at least until the first of the eggs hatch and we know what we’re dealing with. Our next stop was the Temple of the Heavens anyway, right?”

With that decided, I found a nice spot on one of the main island’s beaches and set up another gate to Varüus’kiel with Lilith’s assistance. It wasn’t too far of a flight from the volcano either in case I needed to get there in a hurry. I was a little concerned about the Succubae being able to find the hoard and the eggs there but Lilith had connected all of her children’s minds to hers while in the cave. She assured me that once I had accepted the brood’s service and anointed them as my Priestesses to strengthen our bond, they could travel anywhere within my domains that they had been before. Moreover, it seemed that being mentally connected to Lilith while she was there counted as being there.

I placed the Varüus’kiel side of the gate near the previous one for the sake of convenience and made a mental note to add some sort of signage later for the three gates, and any future ones. With that done and out of the way, I would let Lilith create a portal directly to the Temple of the Heavens. She was familiar with it after all, and it would save us some time traveling there from wherever I ended up making us appear.

I figured that since the Succubae all knew the place well enough that it could be considered safe enough that I wouldn’t need to explore extensively. Anything that I wanted to know about the domain, they could probably tell me anyway. Between that and not being sure just how long it would take to ordain thousands of Succubae as my Priestesses, I decided that just getting the latter done with would take precedence.

As soon as we stepped through the portal, I looked around and immediately found myself smiling. The sky was alive with the warm colors of sunset, it was pleasantly warm, and in the light of twilight, I could see that we were on the edge of a plateau overlooking a large village of simple grass and leaf huts and treehouses that seemed almost a part of the thicker jungle beyond them. The village resonated with my Fae sensibilities, intruding on the environment as little as possible.

It was hard to be certain but I thought that I saw vine ladders going from the tree houses down to ground level. I wondered why for a moment before remembering that the Succubae were born looking human, and wouldn’t gain their full powers and winged forms until they reached puberty. I could even see several small children playing while some of the older ones were training in hand-to-hand combat with each other under the watchful eyes of Succubae who I assumed were their mothers.

Even the stone steps up to where we stood seemed to have been grown from the upward slope with earth magick rather than carved, and along each side of the steps grew carefully tended and nurtured gardens of colorful flowers, some of which I had never seen before. Turning around, I found that the temple itself was of the open-air variety. Great stone arches crawling with sweet-scented flowering vines formed a massive circle encompassing the entire summit of the mesa where we stood.

“This place is beautiful,” I practically whispered in awe and pleasure. The air seemed a little thin, making me wonder if we were on a massive mountain but it was hardly noticeable and with the pleasant warmth and thriving life, it didn’t really matter to me.

“That it is,” Thor agreed with a smile. “I believe that the three of you should be safe here with Lilith and her children to watch over you until you are ready to return home.”

Sif nodded, smiling as she took in the scents and sights before speaking. “Yes, this place is special. It was wonderful to see it but we should take our leave for now while you take care of the business that you came here for. We do not wish to intrude on a private moment, which should be between you and those who choose to serve you.”

“One of us will come to fetch the three of you in the morning so we may begin your other lessons,” Loki assured us. “Rest well tonight, for tomorrow you will be working hard.”

With that, we said our goodnights to the trio of Gods and promised to be ready for the training to come the next day. Once they had taken their leave, I closed my eyes and stretched out my sense of nature and the life around me. I could sense the lives of all those Succubae, so similar to Lilith and yet different as well since they didn’t have her spark of divinity. Most of them were down in the large jungle village but there was a small group in the temple as well.

The jungle spread out around the mesa at its center and I could feel a wide variety of animals and plant life out there in a well-balanced ecosystem. I could also feel what felt like large gardens in the shadow of the jungle. It felt like we were on an island and, while it was brimming with life, it seemed not much larger than the one that we had recently left in Tiamat’s domain. I couldn’t sense any life beyond the shores either, nor the presence of a sea.

Was that it? Lilith had told me that Inanna’s domain was very big but all that I could sense was the life on this island… Wait, I could sense what felt like flocks of birds… below us? My eyes almost shot open in surprise as I expanded my senses further, to their very limits. “Well, damn,” I muttered as I realized that the Temple of the Heavens wasn’t just a name.

Nishalle and Lissany were looking at me in concern, “What is it, Sis?” my sister asked, already on guard.

“We’re on an island in the sky,” I said with an awed smile. The island that we were on was floating, probably a couple of thousand meters above the ground below and the land down below us was huge, as vast as Varüus’kiel, maybe even bigger. Moreover, that didn’t take into account this island, or the other smaller ones floating in the sky. I turned to Lilith, who was looking particularly pleased with herself, and asked, “How?”

“You are not the only one who has been able to create something new to suit Your needs when determined, my Goddess. Inanna was the Queen of the Heavens for a reason. Do You feel that static in the air?” Lilith asked. Then, once the rest of us had nodded, she explained. “When Inanna gave form to this domain she seeded this island and many like it with an ore of her own invention that defies gravity when electrically charged.”

“Holy crap, Grell and the other Atlanteans are gonna freak when they find out about this,” Lissany said as we all continued to stare at the Succubus matriarch.

“If You wish it, we would be willing to harvest ore from some of the other islands, my Goddess, but this island is our home, and it was home to Inanna as well,” Lilith said, bowing her head as the other Succubae who had witnessed our arrival did the same. “We would ask that You place the gate to Varüus’kiel on the land below and leave this island to us, and as a place for You to rest when You wish to get away from the stresses of ruling or the world outside. Most of what we need, we have here or can get from the outside world or from Your presence.”

I nodded my agreement. They weren’t asking much, were offering me their eternal loyalty and service, and this was their home and temple, I wouldn’t take that away from them. From what I had sensed earlier, there was plenty of land available down below us. That land was rich with life and would be good for my people. “Of course, Lilith. The Temple of the Heavens, and the island it is on, will be off limits except for my Priestesses, those who the High Priestess chooses to allow, myself, and perhaps my family. What can you tell me about the lands below us, and this domain in general?”

“The lands below us are rich with life; we sometimes go hunting there to stretch our wings, my Goddess. There is plenty of wildlife in the rainforests, rivers, and lakes. There are also plains where you could grow crops year-round, as we do on this island, and fruit is plentiful and grows well in this climate so orchards could be planted as well. The soil is rich and the domain is tropical with regular rain cycles, occasional electric storms, and a normal day and night cycle,” the Succubus matriarch explained.

“It sounds like a paradise,” Lissany replied as she took in the sights around us.

“Yes, it is,” Lilith replied with a sad smile. “Inanna was very proud of the potential and beauty of this land. She would have brought her followers here, but it was created long after she fell out of favor among the mortals, and we were the only living souls remaining who worshipped her.”

“She deserved better, I think. Still, this could solve our long-term food and supply issues for Varüus’kiel without us having to build greenhouses. I’ll have to talk with some of my people about environmentally low-impact methods of farming, raising livestock, and extracting some of that ore that you were talking about from the floating islands. Earth magic would probably be the easiest and least damaging way to draw out the ore but I’ll try to limit how much we take so those islands don’t fall from the sky,” I said thoughtfully before turning to Lilith and giving her an appreciative smile. “Thank you for your willingness to share this domain, Lilith, you and your girls.”

“It is Your domain, my Goddess, and we are pleased to serve You in any way that we can,” Lilith replied as the Succubae gathered around us nodded eagerly in agreement. They all seemed very happy to have me there judging from the smiles of satisfaction and the way that they basked in my presence as they led us to the inner temple. Part of it was likely because they feed on sexual energy and my aura was pumping it out non-stop, but I thought that there was more to it than just that.

From what Lilith had told me, their relationship with Inanna was far more than just a Goddess and her Priestesses. Inanna was like a mother, friend, teacher, and occasional lover to Lilith and all of her brood. They had just lost her and while I could see that pain in their eyes, they looked at me with hope. They had all met me and spoken with me through Lilith and saw me as Inanna’s chosen successor. Inanna had given them love and a purpose, and in me, they saw a chance to not lose that along with the Goddess they had loved.

It was similar to my relationship with Xixie and the other Sül’shael in many ways. Though the Sül’shael were more gentle and innocent both species had many similarities and had decided to love and serve me without giving me much choice in the matter. They were both good, loyal, and loving people though, the kind of people who deserved to receive that love and loyalty in return.

I thought that the two species would probably get along well if they interacted, though I was worried about the Sül’shael losing their sense of innocence. Not that innocence. They love sex as much as any Fae and like the Succubae, they were a female-only species. Therefore, I wasn’t worried about them being corrupted by my new Priestesses in that way. It was more because the Sül’shael weren’t violent in any way while Lilith and her brood were warriors through and through. Thinking about it though, I believed that they would want to preserve the innocence of the Sül’shael as much as I did, Lilith just seemed like that kind of person, the one who would fight so others wouldn’t have to.

We followed Lilith and some of the other Succubae through the main arch and into the temple itself. I was half-expecting hanging gardens and fountains or lavish decorations but it was as simple as the outside. It was a huge but open space, like being in the middle of a sports stadium. It wasn’t entirely empty though.

There was a simple grey stone throne at the center padded with thick green cushions of moss growing along the back and the seat to make it more comfortable. I could sense some form of spell on the throne, nothing harmful, just some sort of enhancement spell. The floor was composed of the natural stone of the mesa that the temple rested upon, with concentric rings of that same thick moss that covered the throne circling it and moving outward. Each mossy ring was around a half meter wide with nearly a meter between them and they became progressively larger until the one just inside the outer arches that encircled the entire interior of the temple.

“It’s less opulent than I was expecting for a temple,” Nishalle commented as Lilith led us to the throne at the center.

Lilith didn’t seem offended as she explained, “It is where we gathered to hear the words of our Goddess and bask in her aura. Inanna created the temple in this form when she first fused all of her acquired domains and her original one into this one around five hundred years before Danu formed the Veil, and she never desired the fancy trappings. What more is needed in a true temple but the deity and those who have pledged to love and serve them? The throne was empowered to increase the range of her aura to the outer arches and she would gather us here once a week or so to allow us all to feed. When she could not be here herself, I would sit in her place so that my children wouldn’t have to go and feed on the mortals.”

It sounded to me like Inanna had created this floating island and the temple as a way to meet the needs of the Succubae who worshipped her rather than as a place for them to bow and scrape before statues of her and stroke her ego. It was a place for those who were loyal to her rather than for herself. I wished that I could have gotten to know her better because the more I learned, the more I found myself liking her.

We arrived at the throne and as I looked it over while deep in thought Lilith asked, “Goddess? I have called the others to gather so that we can swear our loyalty and devotion to You. If You would like to sit, that is your place now. We can begin once the entire brood has arrived.”

As we waited, Lilith told us more about the island and the village. As I expected, the Succubae lived a simple life in their little bit of paradise, and the jungle provided for most of their needs so that they could provide for the needs and desires of their Goddess. There were a lot of them though, and only one Goddess to serve, so that left them plenty of time to train in combat and magick, which they started at ten years old, before they even hit puberty and began to turn into full Succubae.

We had only seen part of the village from where we had arrived. It hugged most of the north and western sides of the large mesa in the center of the island and there was a villa for Inanna on the northwest edge of the island that overlooked the land below. That villa was mine now as well and Lilith said that much like the village, it was not exactly modern but very comfortable.

The comforts and technology of the modern world that Lilith and her brood had seen through the eyes of Inanna and the Succubae accompanying her had seemed strange and wonderful to them. They planned to enjoy them on the rare occasions that they could but they wished to keep living their simple lifestyle so they wouldn’t lose their fighting edge. Lilith said that the loss of Inanna had hurt them all deeply, and only the fact that she had been able to choose a successor had kept them from losing their way.

The attack had come out of nowhere by a dozen of the Gods in Zeus’s cabal and they had taken down Utu, Inanna, and the four Succubae guarding them almost before they realized that they were being attacked. They had all been distracted by some marvel of the modern world and that distraction had cost them. By the time a war party had been gathered and joined them, the fight was over and Ereshkigal had fled with her sister’s body to Varüus’kiel. I could practically see flames in Lilith’s eyes as she vowed that they would not fail me as they had Inanna.

Soon the entire brood had gathered, even the children were there, kneeling on the concentric moss rings closest to the throne. Even with almost six thousand people gathered, there was plenty of space; it looked like the temple could easily fit three times the number of people that were already there. Inanna had obviously been considering their future growth when she created the domain and I wondered if I could be even half the Goddess that she was to these people. They had chosen me though, just as Inanna had, so I had to try for their sake.

I was sitting on the throne; I could feel it pushing my aura outward as the Succubae, and even the children, watched me intently. It wasn’t the same kind of looks that I was starting to get used to by people who were affected by the aura. There was no lust or slightly glazed expressions. They were all fully alert and attentive and even though my mental link to the adults among them was still weak, with that many there I could feel the mix of emotions coming from them. There was determination, hope, gratitude, affection, unwavering devotion, and love. The kind of love where you would gladly give anything for a person, even your life.

Lilith cleared her throat and I could see her cheeks glistening as she called out, “Thank you for gathering so quickly, my children. We have been enduring a time of sorrow since the loss of our Goddess. Inanna was everything to us. She saved my life and my soul and taught me to accept and love what I had become. She treated me as something precious when I felt tainted and she showed that same love for each of you as well.”

“We may have lost Inanna,” Lilith continued after pausing to collect herself, “but through Her determination, She found a successor to pass Her essence on to before She died. In a sense, She is still with us. All of you have seen Taelya through my eyes and shared my conversations and perception of Her. She is loyal, determined, powerful, cares deeply for Her family and those in Her care, and wishes to make the world a better place, even if She has to fight the Gods themselves to do so. She slew Tiamat and I believe that Inanna chose Her for a reason. I believe that She is a worthy heir to the mantle of the Queen of the Heavens and that She will love, nourish, and defend us Inanna did before Her.”

The Succubus matriarch turned her gaze toward me and for a moment, I didn’t know what I should do or say. “Umm… let’s have a moment of silence to remember Inanna,” I finally said clearly enough to carry through the large temple. Then I solemnly bowed my head and thought about how good she had been to Lilith and the others to gain the kind of devotion and love that they showed her. I only hoped that I could be half the Goddess that she seemed to have been.

After a long moment had passed, I attempted to collect my thoughts and raised my head to address them once again. “I… I’m not Inanna. I’m not even a real Goddess, only a Demigoddess who was born mortal. Honestly, all of this is still a little overwhelming to me. I’m not sure if I can be everything that she was to you but I promise that I will do my best if you all still wish to become my Priestesses. I won’t demand it from any of you, I want all of you to decide that for yourselves because I believe that devotion means nothing if it doesn’t come from the heart.”

I paused to let them take that in and gestured to Nishalle and Lissany. “My sister and my Guardian both offered their service to me freely and I think that’s because they both know that I would do anything for them, just like they would for me. I think that I would do anything for all of you as well, not because you worship me or because Inanna chose me but because from what I’ve seen of all of you through Lilith, each of you would do the same for those you care about and you make your love and loyalty clear to anyone. That is the kind of people I want to surround myself with. All those who still wish to bind yourselves to me, please rise.”

There was no discussion and no hesitation. Every damn Succubus stood up instantly; even the older children who hadn’t gotten their wings yet were standing. Lilith turned her teary face toward me, forcing a smile that just screamed, ‘I told you so’. Then she walked toward the throne to kneel before me. She bared her right shoulder, which bore an intricate mark that was brimming with magic. “My Goddess, I will link all of our minds to make us one so that all that you need do is imbue the mark with your blessing to make it your own. You may bless the children individually when they come of age.”

“No,” I said simply causing a look of confusion and hurt to settle over her face before I quickly corrected myself. “I mean that I won’t change Inanna’s mark, I… won’t take that away from you. I refuse to make that my first act as your Goddess. You all deserve to have something to remember Inanna by, and she deserves to be remembered. I will give you my own separate mark of blessing instead.”

Lilith was smiling at me, tears running down her face and I could see that same look mirrored on other the faces in front of me. I concentrated on the spot on her arm, just below Inanna’s mark, and focused on creating my own mark of blessing in the form of my personal sigil among the Fae. I had to put a lot of mana into it, almost enough to deplete my magick reserves, but then again I was marking over five thousand people at once.

A few minutes later, Lilith’s new mark flared to life, glowing with violet light and I could see the same thing happen to the other Succubae who were visible to me. I could also feel my connection to them get much stronger. The moment that happened, they knelt again as one, collectively saying in a tone of reverence, “Goddess.”

“Please, being respectful is fine but… uh… you can all rise now,” I said awkwardly into the silence that followed. “I’ll… umm… stay seated for a while so you can all get a good meal from my aura but I’m afraid that I have some other matters to attend to tonight as well.”

I sat on the throne for a half hour to let all of my new Priestesses in the temple get a good meal. While I sat there, Lilith introduced me, Lissany, and Nishalle to as many of her older children as she could manage. We chose half a dozen of the girls to take shifts watching over the eggs in Tiamat’s hoard, with orders to contact both Lilith and me through our mental link the moment that anything happened with them. I didn’t send them off immediately though since I wanted them to be able to feed first, and there was something else that I wanted to do as well.

“This… this is wonderful, my Goddess,” Lilith said as she stood beside me on the hilltop where Inanna and Ereshkigal had been laid to rest. She was sniffling and rubbing at the tears in her eyes as she looked upon the monument that Xixie and some of my other wonderful Sül’shael girls had created. She wasn’t alone either since the sky was filled with the other Succubae who had come to pay their respects. The hilltop was covered with the children and some of the oldest members of Lilith’s brood who had served the longest.

Once I had finished making sure that my new Priestesses were well fed, Lilith, Lissany, Nishalle, and I had gone to find a good spot to create a gate to Varüus’kiel. It took us an hour to find a good spot near the plains where I figured we could start sending people to start making hobbit-like homes and preparing the land for crops. Then, with Lilith’s help, I created the gate. As soon as that was done with, I had gone with Nishalle and Lissany to the memorial to call Lilith and her brood to me. They deserved a chance at a proper goodbye.

“It looks just like them,” Chalise said from beside Lissany. She was the oldest of Lilith’s children now that Olaine had died attempting to protect Inanna.

“I had some of my girls create it from Nythrin,” I told them. “The Sül’shael are wonderful artists and they were there when Inanna and Ereshkigal breathed their last. The metal is supposed to be indestructible, so this will be here for people to remember them for a long time. I wasn’t sure what they would have liked, but I thought they should be remembered.”

“Inanna would have said that it was too much, but I think that she would have secretly liked it,” Lilith said, shaking her head sadly. “Thank you for doing this for them, many people would not have bothered. They would have taken her power and put her out of their minds. It just makes me even more certain that Inanna chose her successor well.”

I felt myself flushing but forced myself to not look away. “I wish that I could have gotten to know her, both of them actually. The least that I can do is try to use her power and treat you in the way that she would have wanted. I’m still not sure that I’ll be very good at this Goddess thing, but I’ll try to prove worthy of the legacy that she left me.”

We stayed there a while longer, letting those who had loved Inanna the most pay their respects and say their goodbyes before I had to leave. “We should get going. You girls are welcome to stay as long as you like and to come back here any time that you want. I need to go deal with something important and I don’t know how long it will take.”

“I will accompany you, my Goddess,” Lilith offered, shaking out her wings of water from the light drizzle.

“No, Lilith,” I told her shaking my head and wrapping her up in a hug. “We’ll be here in Varüus’kiel until we’re done and nobody here will allow me to come to harm. Take your time to say your goodbyes and I’ll let you know if I need you for anything.”

“But…” she objected as I released her.

“Do it, Lilith,” Nishalle said sternly. “Tae wants you to have some closure, you need it. She was important to you and you were together for thousands of years. Lissany and I will make sure nothing happens to my sister.”

“Yeah, we’ve got it covered,” Lissany agreed with a grim nod. “He’s nothing that we can’t handle.”

With that, I sent the caretaker for Jonesy’s F.I.T a wind whisper to let her know that we were on our way and then cast a portal to her, leaving my new Priestesses to their grieving. She was alone with the F.I.T when we arrived and that was probably for the best since I couldn’t be sure what mental state Agent Jones would be in when he emerged and I was worried that a large crowd could only make things worse. I turned to the Nyiir’dhraí woman, took a deep breath, and then said, “Open it up so we can see what the damage is.”