"And Thalia?" Lilith asked quietly.
"She'll wait," Elena said. "She wants you powerful. Useful. She'll let the other threats pressure you. Let them force you to develop your abilities faster. And then when you're at your peak, when you're the weapon she wants you to be, she'll arrive to collect."
Lilith felt ice slide through her veins.
"Then we train," Lilith said. "Every day. As hard as we can. Because when Thalia comes, when she tries to invoke that binding covenant, I'm going to be strong enough to break it. Strong enough to tell her no. And strong enough to survive whatever comes after."
Victoria nodded slowly. "Then we start now. No more gentle introductions. No more basic exercises. We push hard. We push fast. And we hope it's enough."
