And still, Emma did not speak.
The night grew long. My friends and I found ourselves gathered in the foyer long after everyone else had gone to bed.
“What do we do now?” Alexei whispered. Kiara put a hand on his shoulder, and he grasped it tightly.
“What can we do?” I replied. “It’s over.”
There was a loud sound of something breaking. Emma had jumped up from her seat. The remnants of her glass goblet remained on the floor. She’d jumped up and shattered it against the ground at my words.
“This is far from over,” Emma said lowly. It was the first time she’d spoken that day. She was seething, teeth clenched and face red.
I swallowed. “But—”
“Fuck. Those. Assholes.” Emma slammed her hand against the wall. “NowI’m fuckingpissed.”
“We’re done, Emma.” I threw up a hand. “Face it. We failed.”
“No!” Emma’s voice shook the walls. “I’m not going to let them get away with this! Are you?”
I’m ashamed to say I was too cowardly to answer. Emma made a vicious noise and began pacing in front of the fireplace. “Droga wants the Crystals of Harmony, but they’re inourhands. It’s time we figured out how to use them. We still have a year left before the portal to Edinmyre closes for good… we still have time.”
“What’s the point now?” I asked hopelessly. “How many fae are left after Droga destroyed the city?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Emma insisted. “If there is but one fae life left to save, we save it. We have five Crystals. There’s only one left to find.”
“And?” I demanded. “Have you seen what we’ve done? Why not just let the portal close and allow the fae turn to dust, along with all of us? Perhaps it’s better for the world if our race dies out. Why not let itend, for the gods’ sakes?”
Emma sighed in frustration and looked at our friends. “Would someonepleasego find my husband? Because it seems like someone’s replaced him with an overdramatic crybaby.”
I sputtered. “Overdra— Emma, welost! Gabby took everything!”
“Big fucking deal,” she shot at me. “She played the game of power better. So what. What’s our next move?
Her resilience was incredible. I didn’t think we could go on. Not after this.
“Don’t you understand?” I pleaded. “We hunt monsters, but today proves that wearethe monsters! The fae are a curse upon this world!”
“I’m not willing to give up!” She shoved me, and I stumbled backward.
“You never are,” I snarled. “Even when it’s clearly hopeless, you continue to fight destiny like a little child who refuses to accept fate.”
“Because that’s what I do! Imakethe impossible happen, because I have no other choice,” she hissed. “You want to lie down and show your belly like a coward? Fine. I’m not going to.”
Our first marital fight. Never thought it would be over something as unbearable as this.
I went to say something mean back, but Alexei came between us, pushing us away from each other
“Cut it out, you two,” Alexei said. “But Emma is right. The Crystals are in our possession. That gives us an advantage, even small, against Droga.”
“And not everyone’s dead. My parents are still safe in the dragon village,” Stefan said. “Dolinska was destroyed, but the outlying neighborhoods around the city were spared. There are still thousands of fae in those communities that we need to protect.”
Stefan was right. The dragon village, the alicorn village, the griffin village… even the wolven pack… all were still standing. We had an obligation to them. We’d sworn an oath to defend them. Could I go back on that now?
“If we find the last Crystal, we can open up the portal to Edinmyre, then use the Crystals themselves to stop Droga,” Delmare offered. “He was imprisoned before. Why can’t he be stopped again?”
“He was stopped by the othergods,” Kiara argued. “We don’t have that kind of magic on our side.”
“The Crystals are insanely powerful magical objects. Droga wouldn’t want them if they didn’t rival his own power,” Emma pointed out. “That means we can use them to put him away. There must be a ritual of some kind,somethingwe can do to imprison him again. I won’t accept any alternative.”
