You know how you're always told not to follow strangers? Well, that concept went out the window when I followed Reya to who the hell knows where.

Ava scanned her surroundings as the group of Tarasks herded her toward Reya. She glanced down to keep from tripping, and when she looked up, the black barren wastes had disappeared.

Holy shit.

Ava now stood in a throne room which was white wall to wall, and she had to shield her eyes from the light that shone through the high, arcing windows lining the extensive hall. The architecture was powerful and formidable, yet delicate and beautiful. Everything was bright, and although the throne room held no other occupants, it felt more alive than the desert outside. Ava risked a peek out one of the giant windows over Reya's kingdom.

It was as if she'd entered an entirely different realm. Unlike the wastes, Reya's city buzzed with beauty and life. Golden light, green trees, plants, grass, and vibrant flowers were abundant. Miles of breathtaking landscapes—green forests and fields stretched into snow-capped mountains glistening in the gold sunset.

The kingdom, it seemed, was an extension of Reya's palace, for all the houses in the city below were sleek, white, and modern. Ava exhaled, astonished at the contrast she'd experienced originally in her visions. Michael had never really explained what Reya's city was like, but it was easier now to understand how he survived in this realm for 15 years.

Michael's death hit her and her stomach churned. It had been so quick, so merciless. Ava hadn't even had time to react. In a moment, his once beating heart had been ripped from his chest, and the shards of his body had nearly killed her. Ava took a breath.

"You mourn Michael?"

Reya's voice made her jump. She turned to the other worldly being. "He was a friend."

"He knew his purpose," Reya said, that voice powerful yet unfeeling.

"He didn't have to die," Ava said. "Not like that."

"Michael had prepared to die. That's why I sent him back, and he knew that. We all have a part to play in the world."

"Why?" Ava asked, stepping away from the window. She approached the dais that Reya stood in front of, her white hood up. "Michael clearly didn't need to die to stop Adriel." She motioned at the Tarasks behind her. "They killed him, not Michael. Michael never needed to sacrifice himself to end Adriel's reign, so why make him think that?"

"Michael needed a purpose."

Ava took a step closer. "Death is not a purpose!"

"Death is sometimes our only purpose in life." Reya sat, her dark eyes cold but not wicked.

"And what now? Now that Adriel is dead? Has his death served your purpose?'

Reya tilted her head. "I am older than you can comprehend, Ava Silva. I was there during the reign of the first Warrior Nun, Areala, and I shall exist for multiple millennia after your life comes to an end. After Earth sees its last Warrior Nun take her breath, I shall still be here." She leaned back. "Adriel was my pupil and my friend. He—well, you know the story of his betrayal and escape to Earth."

"What does that have to do with me? I've already been here for too long. I need to get back. I need to let my Sisters know I haven't died."

"I need you, Ava Silva," Reya said. "When Adriel took my halo, he trapped me here in my realm. You know that halo to be a portal key. Without it, I could not leave. Only my Tarasks could portal between realms. I had to rely on them to bring it back to me."

"I guess a thank you is in order, then," Ava said, "for not ripping the halo out of my back."

"We share common interests, Ava Silva. With the halo in your back, you are of use to me."

Ava stood taller, reaching for the halo's power. "When I put the Crown of Thorns on my head, I saw you in my vision." Reya nodded. "You told me what I had to do to kill Adriel, yet you failed to say that the Tarasks could do it. I don't understand. Why use me? Why use Michael? Nobody had to die." She ran a hand through her hair. "Is that how I was of use to you? To kill Adriel so you didn't have to get your hands dirty?"

"Since the day Adriel stole my halo, my Tarasks have been hunting him. When Areala took the halo, it's power dampened and my Tarasks could not sense its power. Only when she used it. That goes for all Warrior Nuns." Reya stared Ava down, her pale skin more golden in the light of her kingdom. "I missed Adriel again and again, but when you declared war against him, his focus turned to you and your Sister Warriors. Temporarily, his attention turned from me to you. Only when you used the halo to capture my Tarasks' attentions, would Adriel be distracted and damaged enough to be blindsided."

Ava's blood began to boil. "You used me—used Michael—as fucking bait? You used us just so you could have the perfect time to strike?" She slapped her hands against her thighs and scoffed. "Unbelievable."

"It was a life for a life."

Ava shot Reya a glare. "No, it wasn't. It was dozens of deaths—the branches of the OCS, Mary, Michael, and the innocent lives possessed by Adriel's wraiths—all because you wanted control of when Adriel died."

"Compared to the lives his wraiths will destroy if not wiped out, the numbers cannot compare."

"Compare?" Ava nearly yelled. "Nobody's fucking comparing deaths! Death is death. There is no better or worse death. It's all terrible and unforgivable."

"Death is a purpose. One that you have already had."

Ava's hand twitched, wanting to unsheathe her sword, but she stayed it since it wasn't there. "Don't try to make my murder become some sort of twisted destiny. I was a 19-year-old girl who had been paralyzed for most of my life. I was poisoned. I was murdered."

"And your death ultimately led to the unfolding of events that transpired. Had you not died, none of this would have happened. Someone else would have the halo and Adriel would still be alive and planning to use Earth as his base for the Great War."

"What do you know about that?"

Reya tapped her fingers on the arm of her throne. "Adriel had been spouting those lies for a millennium. He's not to be believed."

"And yet Lilith said the same thing."

"She worked closely with him, did she not?"

"Yet I'm more inclined to believe her than you. I know Lilith," Ava said quietly as she glared up at the deity, "but you? You're nothing more than a stranger."

"That's not all I am," Reya said. "I am your savior." She gestured at Ava. "I am the reason you are alive."

"Don't try and act like I am indebted to you," Ava scowled.

"It is no act; it is truth."

Ava glanced around the throne room, fingers twitching. Now that she had healed, she had to get back. She didn't belong here. She belonged on earth with her Sister Warriors. Her throat bobbed. With Beatrice.

After a long while, Ava shook her head. "I don't understand. What is your play?"

"It's the same as it has been for the last thousand years." Reya stood and folded her hands in front of her. "Since Adriel escaped to earth, demons and wraiths have plagued the mortal realm. I wish to expunge the earth of them."

"How?" Ava said slowly.

Reya cocked her head. "With your help, of course."

"My help?"

She nodded. "You're the only human who can see demons and wraiths. You'll be pivotal in battle."

Ava held her hands out and shook her head. "Hold on." She chuckled dryly. "Are you saying that you plan on waging a global war against demons and wraiths?"

"Of course."

"No." Ava turned from her, but two Tarasks stood in her way. She faced Reya once more. "Bringing an army of Tarasks to earth could be catastrophic. There are innocent people on earth who could die."

"And many of those people are possessed by wraiths," Reya said. She approached Ava, the train of her dress silky smooth against the tile. "Tell me, Ava. Are those people really so innocent if their actions provoke violence? If they're the cause of chaos and death?"

"Yes!" Ava said. "The people are innocent. It's the wraiths that need to be destroyed."

"And so they shall."

"Along with the human host? That's reckless murder."

"It would be the death of a few to save the many."

Ava shook her head again. She couldn't believe what Reya said, how cold and callous her mindset was. Though, she was an immortal deity, after all. Perhaps she should expect nothing different. She looked up at her. "You have lived hundreds of human lives. To you, a few million human deaths would mean nothing, but for those of us who have less than a century to live? That's unthinkable."

"Those of us?" Reya shook her head. "You do not live as a human does, Ava Silva. If you are not slain, you will outlive your Sister Warriors." She stepped closer and placed a hand on Ava's arm, her voice low. "Even when your beloved is nothing but dust, you will look the same."

Ava wrenched out of her grasp. "Fuck you."

"I do not mean to hurt you," Reya said, and Ava believed that.

Reya seemed so out of tune with humanity that she believed the words Reya said were nothing more than fact to her. They were just words with no intention or emotion driving them.

"You must know the path that lay ahead of you, Ava," she continued. "After you help me rid the earth of all demons and wraiths, you would be better suited to live out your long life with me."

Ava whipped her head up. "I never said that I would fight for you."

Reya cocked her head again, confusion and anger in those dark eyes. "You would rather your world continued to be plagued by those evil creatures?"

"You speak of a global extermination," Ava said. "You speak of killing anything—human or immortal creature—that stands in the way of you achieving what you believe to be peace." She folded her arms over her chest. "I won't be your pawn in something so fucked up."

Reya straightened. "Do not forget whose halo it is that gives you life."

"You gave up the right to it long ago." Ava let the halo glow brighter. "The halo is mine and I'll do with it what I damn well please."

Reya reached out a hand, but Ava slipped away from it. "Do not be foolish, Ava Silva. You do not know the importance of the gift you have."

"No, I think I finally understand my impact on the world and my purpose as the Warrior Nun." Ava smirked. "I may have supernatural powers and abilities, but I have my humanity still. That is my gift. And I understand that you wanting to wipe out innocent people simply to achieve your goal of what you perceive as peace is not something I can stand by and watch as it unfolds." She raised her fists and widened her stance.

Reya's eyes widened. "You do not understand what you're doing."

Ava scoffed. "You don't understand that by refusing to acknowledge the loss of innocents makes you just as evil as the demons and wraiths you are so ardent to destroy."

Reya lifted both arms to the side as she stepped into a sliver of light. "How can you accuse me of being the same as those spawns of Adriel?"

"Haven't you ever heard not to judge a book by its cover?"

"Is that how you are judging me, Ava Silva?"

The halo burned brighter, and Ava turned to the side so she had both Reya and her Tarasks in her line of sight. "No, I'm judging you by your words and subsequently, your actions."

Subsequently. That's a big word. Bea would be so proud of me for using that correctly in a sentence.

At least, I'm pretty sure I used that correctly.

The thought of Bea reading to her made her chest tighten. How she missed her voice, her hands, her presence. Though she hated it, Ava chased those thoughts away. She needed to focus if she ever wanted to get back to her.

Reya lessened the distance between them. "The only words I've said are how I wish to rid the earth of evil. How is that bad?"

"Because you're showing indifference to both the innocent lives and evil ones that will be lost. No good can come from a massacre of both sides."

"Ultimately, the battle will be good if evil is vanquished." Reya raised her hands. "Can you not see that?"

"I am not blind like you are."

"Ava, I have never seen clearer."

Ava lowered her stance, gaze never leaving Reya's. "And that's why I know you're no better than him," she spat.

She had to get out of here. Ava glanced at the Tarasks only a few feet from her. She'd never tried this before, but the halo was a port key. If she could move through reality in one dimension, then she should be able to portal from one dimension to another just as the Tarasks can. She was no longer scared of getting stuck, of dying. Now she had bigger things to worry about.

Ava focused her attention on the halo. She felt its power, its strength, and let it spread through her. She felt her body dematerializing as if she would move through the floor, but instead of picturing what lay below her, she pictured Earth. She imagined Cat's Cradle, Camila, Mother Superion, Yasmine, and Beatrice. Her Beatrice.

Reya's eyes widened. "No. How are you doing that?"

Ava grinned. "I have no idea."

The deity's calm exterior turned wrathful, and she reached a claw-like hand toward Ava. "You are no match for me and my army. With just you against the world, you will die, Ava Silva. When I cleanse the world of evil, you shall go with it."

Her body started to disappear, and a force began pulling her away from this realm and into another. In a moment, she would be able to step back and be gone from Reya's clutches.

Right before her halo's portal swallowed Ava, she said to Reya, a grin on her lips, "I guess I'll have to fuck around and find out."

Reya's "NO!" was consumed by the collapse of dimensions, and Ava's heart beat once before she fell against something hard and bright light seared her eyes.

Ava struggled to her feet, the ground under her tilting slightly. After her eyes adjusted, she exhaled.

From beneath the trees on the mountain overlooking the compound, Cat's Cradle loomed in the distance. Ava never thought she'd be so happy to see it. Green grass grew beneath her boots, and the sun warmed her face in places it broke through the canopy of trees. The sandstone towers beckoned her back, and the sight of Sister Warriors training in the courtyard nearly made her cry.

Mother Superion, Camila, Yasmine, Beatrice.

She was home.

Ava, tears in her eyes, stumbled down the hill, but she only made it to level ground when three Tarasks materialized in front of her, blocking her path to Cat's Cradle.

She groaned, palms smacking against her thighs. "For fuck's sake."