Jonny smiled faintly. "I wanted to thank you and warn you."
Jenn looked up at him. As with Darian, she sensed this change was permanent. The boy-god had figured out something about who he was.
"The thank-you is for protecting me when no one else would. The warning is that, next time we meet, there will be no discussion. I will not spare my enemies, and you are my enemy."
"Yes, ikir, I am," she said softly.
The Black God held her gaze for a moment before turning away. Jenn struggled to her feet. Her body was streaked with blood, sweat, and dirt. Her magic was but a trickle, and her head pounded with fatigue.
"Jonny," she called.
He froze.
"I still believe in you."
"Farewell, Guardian."
He disappeared, leaving her alone again in the desert. She expected to feel the turmoil she'd felt before at his transition. She didn't. If anything, she couldn't help feeling at peace knowing what she did now about salvation. It came in the form of letting go of her past and embracing her future, not trying to fix something that couldn't be fixed. Whether or not Jonny would ever know that same sense of peace, there was always a chance he could. He could be salvaged, if he chose to be.
That was good enough for her.
"Gods." Her gaze turned to the desert. She didn't have the magic to Travel, and this place was as barren as barren could be.
Jenn looked north and began walking. She needed to know what happened to Darian, if Xander followed through and delivered the Grey God home. Her walk turned into a trot as she pushed her weary body as fast as it would go.