“She’s right,” Julius agreed, turning to his sister. “Algonquin has Marci. We need you to portal us inside Reclamation Land to get her back.”
The smile fell off Amelia’s face. “Algonquin?” she muttered, looking worried for the first time. “That would explain why Marci’s been so upset these last couple hours.”
Julius’s heart skipped a beat. “You can feel her?”
“Not exactly,” she said. “I can’t tell you what she’s thinking or where she is, but it’s hard to miss when the vessel housing the other half of your soul is having an epically bad day. She’s not hurt, though,” she added quickly at Julius’s terrified look. “Just unhappy.”
That went without saying. “Can you get us to her?”
“About that,” Amelia said with a sigh. “I might be a little less than optimal at the moment, I’m afraid.”
“I can see that,” he said. “But you told me before you could always make a portal.”
“Icould, when I had my magic. But your human’s been hitting the fire a lot harder than I anticipated, and I’m afraid I’m temporarily out of oomph.”
“And whose fault is that?” Svena growled, folding her arms over her chest. “You did this to yourself, and now I know why. Iknowthat girl is a potential Merlin, Amelia, which means I know what you’re after.”
“I sincerely doubt that,” the Planeswalker said, taking a long drink off her bottle. “Why are you here, again?”
“BecauseIhave a sense of responsibility,” Svena snapped. “Unlike you, I’m not willing to leave something as powerful as a Merlin, potential or otherwise, in the hands of a violent spirit who wants to kill all of our kind!”
“It’s not a question of willing,” Amelia said, exasperated. “I’m not saying Iwon’tmake a portal, I’m sayingI can’t. I want to save Marci just as much as any of you do. Probably more since she’s carrying half my life right now. That makes this kind of a big deal for me, but I can’t force a portal if the magic’s not there.”
“Then maybe you should have thought about that before wasting the power you did have on something as foolish as breaking your mother’s green eyes!” Svena snarled, smoke puffing out of her mouth.
“How was I supposed to know this would happen?” Amelia snarled back. “What do I look like, a seer?”
Svena threw up her hands and turned away, marching across the dark cave to the far corner, the only part of the room that wasn’t covered in spellwork or empty bottles. When she was standing in the middle of the clear space, she threw down her hands, and a ring of frost appeared on the stone.
“There,” she said, glaring at Julius. “Step in. I’ll take you to the DFZ myself.”
Julius blinked in surprise. “You can do that?”
“Of course,” Svena said haughtily. “Didn’t you see me do it with my sisters? I can go anywhere in the world. And sinceIdon’t rip my way through the fabric of dimensions every time I want to go somewhere, my way is far less obnoxious. Algonquin won’t even feel it.”
Julius couldn’t believe it. “Then why didn’t you offer thisbefore?”
“Because you’re not my clan and it’s not my problem,” Svena snapped.
“And she’s not supposed to be casting while pregnant,” Ian growled. “Svena, Ysolde told you—”
“I know what I can and can’t do!” Svena roared. “I am the White Witch, and your clan head! If I say it’s fine, it’s fine. Now are you getting in or not? Because I’m not doing this all day.”
Julius jumped to obey, hurrying into the icy circle. Chelsie got there next, followed by Raven and the UN team.
“Are you sure you can get us inside Reclamation Land?” Emily asked, giving the white dragon a skeptical look.
“Of course I’m sure,” Svena spat. “I wouldn’t have offered if I couldn’t perform at least as well as Amelia the Drunk. And speaking of.” She turned to Julius. “Youhaveto get that human back, before my oldest and best enemy dies from her own stupidity.”
Julius nodded, finally understanding. Svena wasn’t doing this for the Merlin. She was trying to save Amelia, her best enemy, which was how old, prideful dragons saidfriend.
“I’ll bring her back,” he promised, pulling out his phone to bring up Justin’s map. “Can you set us down here?”
He pointed at a spot in the north on the tree line, just before the forest gave way to the open field. Since they had no idea where Marci was, he didn’t know if it was a good one, but at least the location would give them some cover while they planned their next move.
Svena stared at the spot for a moment, and then she nodded, stretching out her hands.
“I still say you’re all overreacting,” Amelia called from the couch. “This is Marci we’re talking about. Hundred bucks says she’s already busted herself out by the time you get there.”
