But the night before I meant to leave, my master brought me a beggar's chicken. It wasn't particularly good.

He had no idea I was planning to go. He just scratched the back of his head, embarrassed, and said, "Lynara, you haven't been eating well lately. You're getting too thin. I went all the way down the mountain to learn this recipe from a famous cook in town."

"Go on, try it. If it's no good, I'll go back and learn again."

"And if you like it, I'll make it for you every single day."

I blinked, caught off guard. Suspicion crept in before I could stop it. "Why are you so good to me?"

My master stroked his beard and smiled. "Because I think of you as my own daughter."

"If my little girl starved, what kind of father would I be? I'd be heartbroken."

"I'm already old. I don't want to spend whatever years I have left crying my eyes out."

In that moment, looking at the white hairs that had grown in from worrying over me, I felt the walls around my heart crack for the first time in years.

So there was someone in this world who loved me after all.

All at once, I didn't want revenge anymore.

I buried Soulreaper beneath the hibiscus tree and buried all my hatred along with it.

But Aldric shattered my hard-won peace with his own hands, all over again, and dug my hatred back up from the roots.

I lifted my gaze toward the sky where his voice had come from and spoke, each word deliberate and distinct. "Aldric. It's been a long time."

Before the last syllable faded, a flash of white light split the air.

In the space of a blink, Aldric appeared before me with Elara Abbott in his arms.

He looked exactly the same as before. That face, beautiful enough to ruin kingdoms, hadn't aged a single day.

The woman cradled against him glowed with the same vitality.

Aldric looked me up and down, his brow furrowing. "This Sovereign has never laid eyes on you. What do you mean, 'a long time'?"

Oh. I had almost forgotten. After my body reformed, my appearance had changed completely.

No wonder he didn't recognize me.

But my attention wasn't on him. Every ounce of it was fixed on Elara, and I had no patience to spare for Aldric.

I stared at Elara, unblinking. "You're looking well. Rosy cheeks, bright eyes. My master's bones must be serving you nicely."

Back then, my demon essence had only granted Elara passage in and out of the Nine Heavens. Without immortal bones, she still could not ascend to godhood.