I wiped away the tears beginning to form in the corner of my eyelids. My words could apply to so many people—particularly if we failed.
“We’re going to do our best to beat the demons,” I promised her. “If we do, maybe Faerie will change for the better too.”
“May the aether light your way,” Sam said, which made me lift my head to stare at her.
She shrugged. “It’s kind of like ‘amen’ for humans, right?”
Flynn, the only fae present, nodded, looking surprised and a bit intrigued by her knowledge. “That’s right. I like that many in your group have brains and bravery as well as beauty.”
My lips curled up when Sam’s cheeks flushed, but I bowed my head again in an attempt to finish the funeral rite as respectfully as possible.
“May the aether light your way,” I echoed.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
We rode the poor horses hard all day and through the night. Lyon, the best rider, pushed his stallion ahead to warn the castle to be ready. The other advanced riders, excluding Hunter because of his injured arm, took turns carrying the prince on their horses. When it was Alex’s turn, he’d often try to infuse healing magic into Halad. Still, by the time we reached the capital city of the Riverlands Court early the next morning, the prince didn’t look any better. He looked much worse.
As soon as we entered the castle, a group met us outside, among them, Queen Aquatia.
“Quick!” the queen yelled. “Healers, move!”
Within minutes, Prince Halad had disappeared into the bowels of the castle. Needing his own arm bandaged, Hunter followed, and Alex went with him, hoping to be of help.
I scanned the retreating crowd, and found my parents rushing through the fae to join me.
“We heard the news of what happened at the cottage, pea,” Dad said. “Are you all right?”
“Fine,” I replied. “We’ve barely slept since leaving, so I’m exhausted, but there isn’t a scratch on me.”
They embraced me, and I squeezed them tight in return.
When I pulled away, my gaze traveled from Dad to Mom and back again. “But we failed. The aether-blessed fae was dead, so I’m back to square one.”
“Maybe not,” a familiar, proud voice announced.
I craned my neck around Mom to find Diana walking my way. “Amethyst just spoke. She asked for you and Eva.”
“Serious?” My lower lip trembled, partly out of joy for my friend, and partly because we still had a shot.
Diana nodded. “I heard people running through the halls. I glanced out the window to see your arrival, and she woke up. The first thing she said was to bring you two to her.”
I nodded, and after calling Eva away from her mom and dad’s grasp, we followed Diana to Amethyst’s chambers. Our parents trailed behind, the Proctors asking questions every step of the way.
When we reached Amethyst’s door, Simone and Magdalena were still there, standing guard. The door was open, and inside, Headmistress Wake was speaking with Amethyst.
I knocked on the doorframe before entering. Their heads turned simultaneously.
My friend’s eyes lit up when she saw me, although her lips did not curl up in her familiar smile. “Odette, Eva, please come in.” She waved us toward a few chairs settled around the one she’d sat motionless in for days.
We took the seats, and I leaned close to her. “Amethyst . . . I am so sorry about your parents. I should never have let you come. I would—”
She held up her hand. “I would’ve come, even if I’d known what would happen to my parents. I couldn’t live with myself otherwise.” Her words choked out of her, but she fought through the emotion. “They believe in what you’re doing, you know. They’ve seen what has been happening to our world. Things that haven’t even been set in motion yet—terrible things.”
Her eyes drifted out of the window for so long that I thought she’d forgotten we were there.
Eva shifted in her seat, and Amethyst’s attention snapped back to us.
“Thanks for helping me back, by the way. I needed the proper nourishment to become grounded. Not that I waslostwhile I searched for my parents, but I might have been.”
