Elias stretched his hand out to me with his gaze pleading. "Let me take you back to your world. You've digested so much for one day."

With a scowl, I smacked his hand away. "You brought me here as bait and didn't say a word about it. You deceived me."

"No, I just–"

"Let me be clear." I moved close to him with my voice low and my muscles tensed. "I will not be used. We don't know each other. You may look like my friend, but clearly you're not him. Allies are earned and this is not how you earn that."

His expression sobered and any attempt to dismiss what he'd done fell away. Instead, he nodded. "You're right. I should have told you the truth."

"So tell me now. Don't force me to make assumptions."

"His guild and mine are at war. Always have been. But because of Jaxon, I learned that my guild is not what I thought we were. I need help to make things right. There was no way I could talk to Jaxon at all without you–well, Ashton. And that wasn't going to happen. It seemed easier this way."

Was it really so innocent as this being easier or was Elias trying to conceal the truth from me? "I want to know what you did."

Discomfort tensed his brow. "To even start that story, I have to tell you so many others."

"You just don't want to confess."

"Not really." He shook his head, voice sorrowful. "It cost me so much already. I can't ever escape it. It was nice to have you look at me again and not see everything between us."

"I'm not her." It must have really been bad, or at least, had awful consequences for him. Damn it, though, I didn't want to pity him. Whatever he'd done, he'd brought it upon himself. I refused to let any compassion show no matter how it tempted my weak heart. "If we're going to even consider allying together, we have to be honest."

"I know. Just…" Elias sighed deeply and finally straightened. "Can I tell you after I give your people the neural implant? Then you'll at least have some sense of connection to me. You'll have to give me a chance."

Was it so important to him to have my approval? I'd never considered whether my Piercey wanted this so badly, but thinking back, I could see how it tormented him if I felt angry with him. "Seems kind of manipulative. It's weird you're so open about it."

He smirked and shrugged. "I'm not trying to deceive you. I'm just trying to become allies, not enemies. I'll explain everything. I swear. But there's things I need to show you first if you're going to understand. Go home, make your preparations, and when you return, I'll give you the full truth."

"And the neural implants."

"Yes."

When I'd suspected Flare before, it had seemed clear to me that we weren't on the same side. Though I didn't trust Elias, I also didn't necessarily feel it was because we were enemies. Rather, he had an agenda that might not match my own.

"You'll regret it if you try to fool me," I said.

"Trust me, I know this all too well." The sorrow returned to his voice, giving hint to a deep wound inflicted on the relationship between himself and my counterpart, Ashton.

"Why are you willing to give us neural implants?"

"First off, I care. I know what you did for your world. You deserve help. But mostly, I need you. If I help your people, I know you'll help me. That's the kind of person you are."

That seemed genuine. "So why does it feel hard to trust you?"

"Because I'm not as good as the man you know. I'm not Piercey. In this world, I didn't become all you hoped I would. You sense that in me."

"Why are you not as good?"

He cast his look to the horizon, quiet for several seconds. "I gave my loyalty to people who didn't deserve it and I couldn't admit it to myself. Instead of confronting that truth, I twisted myself to fit a mold that didn't belong to me. Despite this, I got things here. Once, I had it all." He watched me now. "I had it and I lost it because I lost myself along the way."

The wound was deeper than I'd first guessed. Enough tension and hurt hung between us, even though I knew nothing about it, that I didn't need to hear more to understand Ashton had a different relationship with Elias than I had with Piercey. The way he looked at me now, though it was meant for another woman, made it hard to breathe, because it was such a heavy regret I saw in him.

"I'm ready to go home," I said. This wasn't my world. I didn't belong here and these people had a lifetime of problems of their own. At home, I could wrap my mind around everything I'd learned and plan with my people. "When I return, I expect answers. Otherwise, don't waste your time coming back for me."

He grinned and nodded. "You never mince your words."

I wouldn't entertain whatever he felt at the similarities between myself and Ashton. "Just so you know, I'm not hiding this from my people."

"I didn't expect you to."

"Openness and honesty doesn't seem as high on your list as it is on mine."

Though he looked like he wanted to argue, he didn't. "I did what I did for Ashton and our people. It may not all have been right, but it wasn't without reason."

"If you didn't want me to be harsh, you shouldn't have ambushed me with a clone of Nash." Now I was the one extending my hand to him. "Come on. I have things to do. Even if I'm not losing time in my world, I only have so much energy, and I've been expending a great deal every day."

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Elias took my hand, in that moment, looking very much like Piercey again. He cared, even if we didn't really know each other yet. I felt that as we returned to my world.

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I was so dizzy with new information and all the thoughts from what I'd encountered that I couldn't pay attention to anything being said. As soon as Elias had returned me to the Sacred School, he disappeared, and Piercey arrived. There'd been no time to fill anyone in yet because we'd already missed so much of the important meeting about valley leadership.

Nash sat on one side of me while Piercey sat on the other and dozens of leaders from the valley filled in the spots around the long table.

I would have fought a battle over listening to arguments any day.

"You okay?" Nash whispered.

"I have something to tell you when this is over."

Concern knit his brows together.

"It's okay. It's just…" What could I even say? I met his eyes. "It's a lot."

I was running through ideas when a man at the far end of the room beat his fists against the table and rose fast enough to knock over his chair. "No more! If we cannot agree, our enemies from outside the valley will take advantage of our weakness and plunder our villages." His long finger pointed at me now. "We've left the security of the valley in one girl's hands. This is ludicrous."

The entire room felt utterly silent. Shock gave way to fear. I never got used to seeing that. Ever since I killed the Prophet of the Valley, everyone feared my name. It took so little, even as little as simply entering the room, to see the quiet of that fear still everyone.

I slowly rose with my arms at my sides, quiet and calm when I spoke. "Girl?"

The man gulped hard enough that his adam's apple jerked in his throat. "I–"

"I'm not a child. You realize that, don't you?"

"Yes, of course."

"The situation is far from ideal. I, for one, would like to have a day off every once in a while. But when I killed Eskel the Ruthless, I understood the responsibility I took on. Foolishly, though, I thought after a year we might have our shit together better than this."

"There it is," Nash muttered and hooked his elbows on the table.

I ignored him and leveled my glare at the man who had spoken so rudely about me. It wasn't what he said but how he said it. "I want a leader for this valley and I want it now. Who will stand up?" I looked around the room at the gathering of chiefs, graduates, commanders, disciples, and even a select number of demons who had proven to have potential despite being previously unknown. "Can't one of you do the job?"

Their silence made me want to scream. Finally, one older woman lifted her weathered hand, waiting patiently for everyone to look at her.

"I believe," she began, "that there is already one person standing."

A burning heartbeat pounded against my chest. "I'm not the right person to lead the valley."

That awful quiet captured the room again. Even the people who had been vying for the position said nothing, likely afraid to position themselves as my opponent even though I had said I didn't want the job.

"Why not?" she asked.

"I don't want it. I need to battle. And I'm too hot-headed." I shot a hand out to Piercey. "He's wise and patient. Don't you want someone like that?"

Enough murmurs of disagreement broke out that one of the chiefs winced and offered an apology to Piercey.

"Who would cross us with you in power?"

I turned in shock at the deep voice of a chief who had been a top contender for the position for the last year. Markus. He wanted to lead the valley. Why would he say that? Why would he encourage me to take what he wanted? I stared, shocked to silence.

He stood up and walked toward the center of the room, his demeanor and voice so easy that I immediately saw why so many people followed him. This man had all the political charisma I lacked.

"We're at war with ourselves and with the world." Markus raised both hands out toward me. "Who better to lead us through this war than Eclipse? The most powerful demon in Skia Hellig. Maybe in the world."

"What the hell?" I whispered under my breath.

"With a strong council behind her and two top disciples to lead at her side, we could claim this land as our own and make peace for our children."

Several clapped and a few cheered and I felt the walls closing in on me.

"Let us guess," a woman I barely recognized said. "You would be at her side?"

Some chuckles broke out, and then Markus surprised me again by laughing as well. "Naturally." He held my eyes, directly across the table from me. "If our Prophet would have me."

Heat flashed down my spine. I plastered my hands on the table and leaned forward. "I am no Prophet and my name is not Eclipse." My voice boomed now. "I'm Max the Sharpshooter. The next person who calls me Eclipse is getting thrown through the wall."

Markus only smiled even though he had no power and could not defend himself against me. "The only ones who can be trusted with power are the ones who never craved it to begin with. Will you truly turn us away when we need you?"

Everyone was watching me. Even Nash. I looked over to see that rather than scoff at what this man had said and agree with me that I should never take on such a job, he watched me intently.

Markus must have realized that he would never cease power for himself and positioning himself as my second would offer him far more than he could take himself. It was not all for vanity, however. Markus was a mighty warrior. He'd proven himself in battle many times, especially over this past year. Though he did hunger for the power I wanted nothing to do with, I believed he wanted to take care of the Valley with it.

"Don't I have enough power as it is?" I looked down at my hands, unable to keep out the images of the life jerking from the bodies of the villagers when I was a child.

The first woman to have spoken, the older woman, smiled and lifted her chin. "Who else do you trust our lives with?"

I clenched my teeth and nearly turned away, only that felt cowardly. Piercey stood up beside me now and calmly clasped his hand in front of himself. "I think it's best that we take a break to consider what we've heard."

Nice political speak for shut up, Max. Don't say another word. It took all of my effort to keep from storming out of the room. Once a portion of the room had dispersed, I walked outside straight for the woods to the right.

Piercey and Nash ran after me.

"I'm not doing it," I said.

"Why are you so against it?" Piercey asked.

"I don't want it. How many times do I have to say it? Just because I killed someone doesn't mean I'm fit to lead everyone."

"What if you do it for a few years until we're stable?"

"Have I not sacrificed enough already?" I wheeled around and dug my nails into my palms. "Day after day, I give all I have to this valley and to these people. There is only one thing I've said I won't do, and still they harass me for it."

Nash hadn't said anything yet. His look caught my eye and I held his stare, my heart softening.

"You do what you know is right," he said. "Just make sure you're trusting yourself as much as the rest of the valley does. Eclipse is no longer a name of death but liberation."

I lowered my head, consumed by a way of grief that overcame me. "I faced the gods and I stole our world from them. It was terrifying to wonder if I'd done the right thing. I don't know if I'm strong enough to keep making these kinds of decisions."

Nash walked closer and pulled me into an embrace, saying nothing else. The quiet strength soothed my storming heart.

What scared me more than anything was the thought that maybe the reason I so vehemently refused to even consider leading the valley was because I actually needed to do it.

"There might be another answer," I said, feeling so weary. "I have something to tell you two."