Summary

Kody’s power to teleport malfunctions, and she barely escapes Ameretat and Sraosha on foot. She is intercepted by Suriyel, who promises her no harm. He takes her to a small room where Adidiron and a group of battle-weary Arelim hide. They explain that Sraosha and Ameretat decided to kill the Malachai in order to bring about Sada, a utopian world where only good exists. Unfortunately, an all-good reality would be unbalanced, and would lead to the destruction of the universe. Sraosha and Ameretat reason that it would be a gentler way for the universe to end than to wait for Ambrose Malachai to destroy it. By binding Nick’s powers, Kody gave the Arelim the perfect opportunity to kill him while he’s too weak to protect himself.

Kody blames herself, but Suriyel tells her it was written in the prophetic text (the...