The view of the sun rising above the horizon, paired with the blustering wind, reminded me that peace and violence were never too far apart. Waves crashed against the cliffs far below, and a few faint bird calls drifted up to us. Em sat on our small blanket, nibbling at something I didn’t recognize as food. The air was clear, and, far in the distance, I could barely make out the coast of Calais. We’d probably go to France at some point. For now, the cliffs overlooking The Strait of Dover was close enough. The sun inched higher, the world’s first alarm clock. Millions of people would soon be going about their day oblivious to the war raging all around them.

“Kind of puts things in perspective,” I said.

Em stopped chewing and wiped her hands on her thighs. Except, it wasn’t Em, or it was, but not really. I told her I’d love her even if she was in a wheelchair. I never thought I’d have to contend with her being in a different body. The soul was hers, though, and that was enough. At least, I hoped it was.

“What do you mean?” she said.

“It sounds ridiculous and cliché,” I said, “but knowing that vastly more powerful beings are fighting each other to control the world kinda makes human squabbles seem petty.”

“The devout have been preaching that for thousands of years,” she said.

I shifted my feet. “Except, we know there are no gods.”

“Do we?” Em asked. “Depending on how you look at it, you have three of them locked away at your hip.”

I gripped the hilt of my khopesh. As long as the Zaeim Aljiniy stayed trapped in my Abued, I didn’t have a safe place to hide out. Going home was no longer an option since the Austin PD was on the warpath, and our names were on every most wanted list in the country. I had ways to get around that but wasn’t prepared to mess with the probability that much just yet. With everything that had just happened, I could feel the balance slipping.

“Besides,” Em continued, “even if we do know God doesn’t exist, what does that change?”

“Nothing,” I said. “I still have a job to do.”

“Sound familiar?” Em said.

“Don’t even go there,” I said. “It’s funny, actually. In the end, I didn’t get much done.”

“You saved me. That’s something.” She sounded a little hurt. “At least, I think so.”

“I know, but I also got you killed. So, really, we’re less than at square one. The Zaeim Aljiniy are definitely my enemies now. The only person who got what she wanted was Ma’at. No, that’s not true. Jinn got what she wanted too. Although I think she was expecting Ma’at to keep her end of the deal and send her to Aaru.”

Em put her arm around my waist and pulled me close. “We’ll deal with it together. I’m sure Rockslide will help as well once he gets back.”

Dammit, why’d she have to remind me of that? Rockslide had gone back to the Duat to speak to Kontaru and the other Shaytan and Malak. I tried to stop him, be he was adamant that none of them should be held to a path they didn’t want to walk. He would preach the virtues of freedom to anyone who would listen. He would bring me back my army—his words.

“Do you like my new look?’ Em asked entirely out of the blue.

“Uh, I, um,” I cleared my throat, “I mean, that’s to say, Jinn was, you know, very—”

“Oh, stop it,” she said. “I bet you wish I had my old body back.”

“Come on, Em,” I said. “Your body doesn’t matter.”

“Bullshit,” she said. She sounded eager rather than angry or hurt. “I see how you try not to look at me. I sure as hell want my body back. Now tell me you wish I had it back.”

“Fine,” I said, “I do wish you had your body back, but that’s not—”

“Good,” Em interrupted, her face strained. “Because Jinn’s body isn’t the only thing I inherited.”

A gold link snapped into existence on top of the one that was already there. Power shot into me and flung me back. It rebounded into Em, sending her flying as well. The gold link grew thicker and brighter until it was blinding to look at. A whirlpool of colors lifted Em off the ground, spinning her around. When she landed, she was her old self. There were now two gold links. They were so intertwined I couldn't tell where one began and the other ended. The links dimmed, and I could feel her soul tied to mine, just as mine was to her.

“Your wish is my command, master,” she said, a broad smile on her face. “Like I said, together, forever.”

The ether rumbled, and I felt something slip. Suddenly, the Zaeim Aljiniy and Ma’at didn’t seem like such a big problem.

“Yeah,” I said, my voice weak, “forever.”