Gwyneth meets my gaze. Do we trust him? A bellow of rage gets closer. What choice do we have? We need to get out of here first, and then we can figure out our next steps.
I sigh, throwing my hands in the air. “Fine, lead the way.”
He glares at me, eyes blazing with an intensity that makes my stomach drop, before he turns toward the darkened courtyard looming ahead. “Try to keep up,” he snaps, urgency lacing his voice. We burst into the night, heart pounding as we sprint toward the unseen barrier cloaked in shadows.
“Daphne, run. Don’t look back,” Eron’s terrified voice echoes in my mind. My feet get tangled at the desperate plea. Malachi catches my elbow, saving me from faceplanting the frozen ground. Defiance clenches my heart, and against every instinct screaming to flee, I glance over my shoulder. Cold fingers curl around my heart, their vice grip making it impossible to breathe. The lion’s fierce gaze locks onto mine, and behind him, the Snow Queen slinks forward, a predatory glint dancing in her eyes. Eron leaps ahead, muscles taut and ready to defend, but myheart stutters in dread. We don’t abandon friends to fate. Nash’s arm grips my waist with a fierce urgency, as if to anchor me against the oncoming storm. “Wait!” I cry out, my voice raw and desperate as I claw at his flesh to free me. “We have to go back.”
The Snow Queen’s smile, wicked and venomous, stretches across her face like a dark omen, transforming beauty into a nightmare. She lifts her hands, and an icy blast of power hurtles through the air, a shimmering harbinger aimed right at me. Eron doesn’t hesitate as he twists mid-leap, throwing himself into the line of attack. The golden sheen of his fur dims as the ice envelops him, encasing him in a chilling embrace. A heavy thud reverberates through the night as he crashes to the ground like a falling star.
My tears cascade, blurring the world around me as the shards of despair sink deeper into my heart. “Live. Remember your worth, fairest of them all, and dazzle them as you break the laws of stone. Mind the cracks and let their hearts help your burden,” Eron’s voice, trembling like a fading echo, whispers through my mind, growing fainter with each breath.
I struggle against Nash’s iron grip, desperation clawing at my throat. “Let me go!” I plead, my voice cracking. Or is that the sound of my heart breaking?
“Don’t let his sacrifice be in vain,” Nash implores, each word a dagger twisting in my soul.
Eron’s golden eyes flutter, a dimming light in an ever-darkening world, before he succumbs, warmth giving way to ice. The weight of his final gift crushes me beneath the haunting reality of loss.
Chapter
Thirty-One
The night presses in around us, cold and thick, as we trudge through the dense forest. The only sounds are our footsteps crunching against frost-covered leaves and the occasional sniffle I refuse to acknowledge.
Eron is gone. My mind repeats it over and over, as if forcing the words into reality will somehow make them easier to accept. It doesn’t. It never will. My constant companion, my cheerleader, friend, confidant... extinguished from this world.
My numb legs move forward, but I feel hollow, like some vital part of me was ripped away the moment he fell. The warmth of his presence, his quiet humor, his unwavering belief in me—it’s all gone, vanished into the same darkness that swallowed him whole.
The centaur lifts his hand, pointing out the shimmering portal nestled between two gnarled trees. It should be a sign of hope, an escape from the nightmare we left behind, but instead, it feels like a door slamming shut on everything we’ve lost.
I stop, my breath hitching, my fingers curling into my palms so hard my nails bite into my skin. “Genie,” I croak, my voice barely audible over the rustling wind.
He appears instantly, arms crossed, looking uncharacteristically solemn. “Daphne,” he whispers, a rare note of gentleness in his voice.
“I want to make a wish.” My throat is raw, my body trembling from something beyond the cold.
“Daphne, no,” Gwyneth shouts, rounding on me. “The consequences?—”
“Damn the consequence,” I snap. “He risked everything for us. Who are we if we don’t return that level of dedication?”
“You aren’t thinking straight, Calamity,” Hart says, grabbing my elbow and spinning me to face him. “Any of us could lose our lives. This is a slippery slope you don’t want to venture down.”
I shake my head, endless tears freezing on my cheeks. “I wish to bring him back,” I croak.
Everyone sucks in a breath. The genie exhales, shaking his head. “I can’t do that.”
My heart clenches, a sharp, brutal ache that spreads through my entire being. “Why not? You’ve been pestering me to make a wish, and now I have.” My voice cracks. “You can undo things. Fix mistakes.”
He crouches down in front of me, his usual sarcasm replaced with something far too knowing. “There are rules, Daphne. Even I have limits.”
My breath comes in short, shallow gasps. “That’s not good enough.”
Sir Sweeps-A-Lot gently nudges against my side, his bristles brushing along my arm in what I assume is an attempt at comfort. The absurdity of being comforted by a magical broom should be funny, but all it does is make my chest ache more.
I squeeze my eyes shut, my body trembling with the encroaching weight of grief. The loss is suffocating, a black hole pulling me deeper into its grasp. “He’s supposed to be here.” My voice is barely a whisper. “He was always supposed to be here.”
The genie sighs, placing a hand over his heart. “For what it’s worth, if I could change this, I would.”
A sob forces its way out of me, sharp and ugly. “I can’t do this.”
