"I can't get a clear shot. Move it," Ren snapped.

Saefera still hadn't budged. Her claws curled around my head were the only thing stopping Ren's bullet.

"Phoenixes are supposed to be a lot bigger than us." She lowered her head to look me in the face, and her brows furrowed. "You sure this is her? I mean, she really smells human. If this Mars goddess is so sneaky, maybe she threatened this girl or brainwashed her and made her impersonate Mars."

I wasn't opposed to that interpretation of events. I tried to look as helpless and pleading as possible, which wasn't particularly hard, seeing as that was exactly how I felt.

Ren scoffed. "I've met her before. This is her. Just move your paw, damn it."

Something clanked in the direction of Aster's cage. Even if he was angry at me, he couldn't want me dead. He would try to save me, but I doubted he would be able to free himself. If this went badly—as I suspected it might—he would be as helpless to stop my death as I was.

"Look," Saefera said with a sigh, "if you're right, I'll step aside, but you can't just kill her if there's any doubt."

"I think I know the face of my sister's killer."

I winced. Liv was dead. I'd suspected as much, but I hadn't wanted it to be true because it gave Ren yet another reason to be murderous. Still, I might be able to use this knowledge to my advantage with Saefera.

"Liv is dead because you and her helped Frozen Tooth kill dozens of people, and she was executed for it by their chief. That's not my fault."

"Ren-"

Ren cut Saefera off. "Who are you going to believe, me or a stranger? She did this to me, and she killed Liv, so move aside."

I scoffed, but my nose panged, and I ended up biting back tears. "I can't believe I thought you were just a misguided kid. You're a full-blown psychopath."

Ren crouched to shove the gun in my face. It wasn't a clear enough shot to kill me, but he could probably take off a good portion of my jaw if he fired. "You and Frozen Tooth are the murderers, not me. At least, not yet."

My stomach lurched into my throat.

Saefera took her second forepaw off my back and used it to block Ren's gun. "I'm not helping you do this without any proof she's anything but a defenseless human. And this whole brainwashing thing—phoenixes are flame dragons, not voids. It would make more sense if Aster was brainwashing her."

"He's not." I couldn't get Aster dragged into this any more than I already had. "He doesn't brainwash people."

Another clank brought the attention to Aster, which he had to know was a horrible idea. Somehow, he must've removed his gag, because he shouted, "I do. She doesn't know what she's talking about. How would she? I've got her wrapped around my little finger. Anything she did to you or your sister or anyone else, I made her do. She's innocent."

"Shut up," I shouted back. "You're not helping."

"She never had powers, either. I made it look like she did with an illusion. She's just a useless human puppet. Don't give her the credit for my abilities."

"For the love of sanity, stop-"

Saefera snarled, and Ren jumped to his feet.

He waved the gun between us. "Both of you, shut up. Aster, you'll be free in a few moments once your master is dead." He took a breath and leaned toward Saefera, pincer dripping with venom.

She jerked back, and the weight of her claws disappeared from my back. "Why-"

I struggled to push myself to my hands and knees. The gashes in my back twinged with every breath. An age passed as I dragged myself to my feet.

The world erupted in thunder that threw me back against a hard wall of dragon flesh. Saefera shoved me aside. She was unsteady on her feet. Growling, she stepped between me and Ren. +

"I told you I won't be a part of unfounded murder, and you bit me? Is that how you deal with people who get in your way—you drug them or shoot them dead?" She was advancing on him, her growl rising to a roar that emphasized every word.

"She's a monster." Ren looked around her at me, fumbling to reload the gun again.

He didn't need to bother. I wasn't dead yet, but it was coming. An unending wave of dread drained the strength from my limbs. He'd been too close to miss my heart. It wasn't beating anymore.

"If she was the monster goddess you say she is, we'd be dead already. Where is the healing charm?"

"You're not wasting one of those on-"

Oh, I was on the floor now. It wasn't a very comfortable floor. Not that it mattered. It would all be over before Saefera and Ren finished arguing. I wished they would just be quiet and let me die in peace. And that clanging noise—it was so annoying. Aster should give up already. He wasn't going to get out of that cage on his own.

***

"Don't touch her," Aster said with a snarl.

"Sorry, I was just-" Saefera sighed. "I really thought you were in trouble. I mean, it wouldn't be the first time a biped cast a spell on one of us so we'd work for them. And Ren said-"

"Ren is insane. Even I could tell from across the room, and I'm only half dragon. You had to know he was off the rails, which means you're just as crazy as he is."

"He's desperate, not crazy." She huffed. "And even if he were crazy, wanting to trust my best friend wouldn't make me crazy."

He scoffed. "Yeah, it would if he were the reason dozens of people died and a whole village went homeless."

"I didn't know about that."

My limbs were still too heavy to lift off the hard metal surface beneath me, but I managed to get my eyes open. I was flat on my back on the operating table, a weighty seven-petal flower charm sitting on my chest. It pulsed with green light in time to my heartbeat.

Aster stood at my side, Saefera a little ways behind him.

"Where's Ren?"

Aster shook his head. "He slipped off while I was taking care of you. Guess he didn't have a plan to deal with us without Sae on his side."

Saefera scoffed. "I'm still on his side, I just think he's going after the wrong Mars. Your girlfriend's no criminal mastermind."

"Right." He gave me a conspiratorial look. "She's all human."

"Yep." I lifted the medallion off my chest. "That is entirely true." As soon as I set the medallion down, an invisible dagger stabbed through my heart. Gasping, I sunk back to the table and dragged the medallion onto my chest. The pain faded. It was still there, but it was manageable.

As Aster took my hand, the pain went away entirely. "Give it a few minutes. The bullet's still working its way out."

"Oh, is that all?" I could almost feel the bullet moving inside me, but I was pretty sure I was imagining it.

Saefera made a little clicking noise. "What you said about controlling her..."

"I was trying to save her life, but she's not a puppet." He looked at me when he said that. "And she's not a murderer, either. As far as I know, she's never killed anyone."

I raised my eyebrows. 'As far as he knew?' Did he think there was even the barest sliver of a chance that Ren was right about me being an immortal monster?

Saefera sighed. "Ren's not evil. He's just-"

"Crazy?" I suggested. "Brainwashed by his crazy father? Under the influence of crazy potions? You can't justify what he did—or what he's trying to do—without either saying he's evil or crazy."

"Fine, he's a little crazy."

"A little? Look, you seem to be a reasonable enough person. Is it sane to kidnap someone as bait to catch who you believe is a malevolent deity with the ability to raise the dead?" When she didn't immediately argue with me, I added, "That only ends two ways—either I'm not a deity and you've killed an innocent woman, or I am a deity, and I kill you for bothering me. There is absolutely no reason why I would lose to a lowly half-human half-windrunner and his teknon friend if I'm a heartless monster who doesn't care if anyone—not even my 'servant'—lives or dies."

Saefera sat with a heavy thump. Her ears and tail drooped. "I know I shouldn't, but I-" Her voice broke. "-I love him like a little brother. I can't stop loving him just because he's crazy with grief. I mean, he just lost his twin sister. Would you be okay after that?"

"No, I wouldn't, but I wouldn't kill a random person or keep doing the thing that got her killed, either." I knew I wasn't a random person to Ren or his family, but if he'd known the truth, he would realize I might as well have been.

She was quiet for a while, and I let my eyes drift closed as the healing medallion did its work.