Before he leaves, I call out, “Has anyone seen the others?” I figured Damien, Magnus, Rosie, and Arianna would be here too.
Varian doesn’t slow when he answers, “Magnus and Damien will meet us there, I’ll ensure it.” And then he’s gone.
“Rosie is in the armory, tipping arrows with poison,” Sarah answers.
I turn back to my mortal friends and try to pretend we don’t all have tears in our eyes. “Good, okay. Uhm,” my voice trembles, and I pause to clear my throat before continuing, “you guys will hopefully be safe here, but if Need wins, have someone apparate you back to the Shadow Realm. Hopefully–”
“Not happening,” Isaac cuts me off.
Conner still looks a bit green, but nods in agreement.
“We aren’t sitting this out,” Sarah adds, her tone shaky but firm.
One of my tears breaks loose, even as I shake my head. “I love you guys, and I know you want to help, but you have no fighting experience.”
For once, I don’t feel afraid of their responses.
They aren’t going to abandon me just because I disagree with them. They’re my family, and real family doesn’t do that.
Conner finally finds his voice. “Then we won’t fight. But we can still help. There are families over there – little kids and elderly. Someone can apparate usover, and we can start evacuating. We’ll get everyone as far as possible.”
I open my mouth to disagree, not wanting to put them in danger, only to shut it again. This is their choice, and I support them. “That’s a really good idea. Okay.”
“Do everything you can to stay quiet. Need will likely have some soldiers watching the town. If you’re seen, you’ll be captured and held as hostages again,” Morgana warns as they stand.
Sin releases me just as Sarah launches herself at me for a suffocating hug.
I hug her back just as tightly.
“If she does – don’t give in,” she chokes, just as Conner and Isaac join the hug.
“Stop trying to steal all the glory,” Isaac adds in a teasing tone.
“Yeah, Vivian, let us be heroes too,” Conner agrees, forcing a laugh.
I choke back my sob. “I love you guys.”
We hug a little tighter to an answering chorus of ‘I love you.’
When we finally break away from each other, I find Morgana giving us a thoughtful, calculating look. “There are quite a few people here who can’t fight, but they can apparate,” she muses.
“You’re right,” Ragna quickly agrees. “Go find Carys. She’ll be able to rally anyone who can apparate. Take them with you. Once you’ve cleared away civilians, they can help apparate in more soldiers.”
My friends agree and hustle to get to work. I try not to focus on the fact that this might be the last time I ever see them again.
My friends, my realms, my homes.
I won’t let them down.
The moment the door closes behind them, Ragna turns to say something to me, but before she can say a word, Morgana whirls on Sin.
“What have you done?” Morgana hisses in obvious panic.
“What needed to be done.” Sin wraps a possessive arm around my waist, and his tone is glacial.
Morgana’s expression turns livid, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this angry. Her breathing is heavy, like she’s fighting the urge to yell. And even though there’s no sign of magic coming off her, something inside my chest shudders in fear, like it knows danger is close.
“You broke yoursoul, right before a war? Do you have any idea what that did to your power? You’re now weaker than Leon,” she whispers, like any added volume will splinter her control.
