The Witch King’s right beside me. I focus—and send a powerful blast of fire to the Witch King, with combustible air to feed it. Mirella circles the old villain, and I keep the flame alive.
At once, several memories entrap me. My mother’s still screaming, and so is my sister. The smell of burned hair assaults my nose, taking over my senses. I close my eyes, but it’s worse, so I open them.
An infinitude of screams still echoes in my mind, and yet the only creature burning is the Witch King. I reinforce the flame with the right air, my heart beating fast, my pulse wild while I want to escape that dreadful pit of pain. And yet our foe is burning. I suppose I did it. Mirella’s still encircling him as I reinforce the flame one more time, even if it tears me apart with shame and guilt and the memories that will never fade.
Then, instead of the Witch King, all I see is a cloud of dark smoke.
He’s gone. Gone!
My body’s trembling, and I want to cry and yell and cheer. I pat Mirella, who was extremely brave. Cherry Cake feels like Cherry Cake again, but I sense a wave of sadness, and an image comes to my mind.
He’s flying across the ocean, to a distant land, where he meets other unicorns, some of them dark like him, some lighter, but none of them with his cracks. His sadness turns into joy, and I realize that he has friends and maybe even some family in the Nowhere Lands. This vision is a goodbye. I wish I could hug him one last time, but he flies away.
Then everything around me spins. Mirella’s falling, spinning, hurt.
It takes all my effort to conjure some air to slow her down. In the garden, Nelsin and Ferer create a water bubble in the air, which helps us slow down some more, and yet we still land with a thud. I jump away from my sister and look at her.
No. No, no, no.
Too many ice spears hit her. There’s too much blood. I understand now why she didn’t want to give up. She knew she wouldn’t have another chance. A scream rips from my throat. My sister’s dying. After so many years searching for her, after finally finding her, I’m going to lose her again. I rest my face on her and let the tears flow, my body convulsing in sobs.
A sea fae approaches me. “We can try to heal her if she shifts back.”
Mirella’s unconscious, and her eyes are closed.
“I don’t know if she can,” I say.
The sea fae points to her wounds. “You need to stop the bleeding.”
I rip my shirt, find an opening, and press against it. Renel, Tarlia, Nelsin, Ferer, and Lidiane also come and help, but there are so many wounds, so large...
“Mirella, can you hear me? You need to become a fae again. There’s no need to fly now.”
Her breathing is labored, and I can feel her life fading.
“Marlak!” Astra’s running in our direction, beside Ziven and Azur.
“What happened?” she asks.
I show her the Shadow Ring. “Thank you. I defeated him, but… my sister’s hurt.”
Ziven touches my sister’s face. “Mirella, can you shift? I won’t be able to kiss you with this huge beak.”
I roll my eyes, annoyed at the ridiculous joke, and yet my sister vanishes and reappears in her normal body, her head resting on Ziven’s lap.
“I… don’t have… one year,” she mutters.
Ziven cries. “Yes, you do.”
Meanwhile, a sea fae comes running. “Permission to take her to Our Highness?”
“Can you heal her?” I ask.
“Yes. It’s a promise,” the fae says.
I sigh. “Then take her.”
I watch as they carry her wounded body to the beach, then I pull Astra close and hug her.
