“You’re asking us to incite a war,” King Ethan stated.
“We are asking you tostave offwar for as long as you can,” Takahashi replied. “At least until the children are ready to fight.”
“We need to make an alliance outside of Union control,” Hemlock insisted. “The six of you need to agree to fight together. The Arcanea, the Hawkei, and the Miriamic Coven together would be a formidable force. It would at least cause Doctor Taurus to pause.”
“It’s not going to make him stop what he’s doing,” Daddy scoffed.
“No,” Hemlock agreed. “But it will buy us some time so your children can graduate from the Institute. Then we can get them away from here once they do.”
“That’s over two years away. I’m not convinced he’ll hold off that long,” King Ethan said.
“We have no choice. The vampires and the angels are already making plans together after your treaty with them failed to go through last spring,” Hemlock stated. “They’re looking for more allies. Don’t give them any options. If their forces remain small, they won’t provoke the other races, and we can maintain some semblance of peace.”
“The fae won’t side with them. My son has already decided that,” Ethan said. “We fought alongside them in the last war, but we won’t do it again. That should be enough to make them pause.”
“For how long?” Daddy’s tone was harsh as he spat, “I regret sending my daughter here in the first place.”
“So do I,” King Ethan growled. “This was a mistake.”
“With all due respect, Chief Mitoh, Ava would’ve ended up here one way or another. Her behavioral problems and— dare I say— addiction to causing trouble would’ve had the Hawkei court system sentencing her here eventually,” Hemlock stated. “And my king, I beg you not to be offended when I say that the only other penalty Kalina would’ve received for her crimes was the noose, and you would’ve not executed your daughter.”
“Marcus had to go here,” Nadine said quietly. “The coven was calling for his head the moment he killed all those people, accident or not. I was worried the Burning Times were going to start all over again. Sending him to the Institute was the only way to keep him safe from the coven.”
“And poor Charlie.” Mama shook his head.
Hemlock sighed. “You understand my sentiments. This place saved him. As inept as this institution can be, the streets would’ve killed him. He didn’t know any other way to live until he came here. So let’s not deceive ourselves and think that this situation could’ve been avoided. They’re here now, and damage control is the best we can do.”
“What is thisreallyabout?” Daddy leaned against the table. “You didn’t call us here to demand we unite. We would’ve done that anyway, to protect our children. What’s the real fucking punchline?”
Hemlock glanced warily at Takahashi. The old counselor took a short breath as he removed his glasses and said, “Over the past seven months, I’ve taken a sabbatical from the Institute to investigate what’s truly at stake.”
“And what did you find?” Queen Emmaline asked.
“I began with Charlie’s prophecy,” Takahashi stated. “He is destined to lead the Elves to the Blessed Haven, their true home in the afterlife. It is his mission to unite the keys that open the Elven gate on Darke Island, so that the Elves may find a true home there. However, there are… consequences if he doesn’t complete his mission.”
“What kind of consequences?” Mama asked.
“The keys were lost centuries ago when they were stolen by the Unseelie fae, and after that, no one quite knows what happened to them. From what we can tell, the Elves who have died since the gate was closed are caught in a sort of in-between place between earth and the afterlife,” Takahashi said. “If those keys are not found and the gate to the Blessed Haven is not open, no Elf will ever enter the Blessed Haven. Their souls will be trapped forever in limbo, unable to rest in peace or reincarnate into new lives.”
Charlie let out a choked noise beside me, and I felt my blood turn to ice.
“Are you telling me that the Elves that have died arestuck?” Queen Emmaline questioned.
“It’s worse than that,” Takahashi said. “The Elves were the first supernaturals, and therefore, each magical race shares a connection with them. Souls that aren’t inherently Elven continue to pass back and forth from earth to the afterlife, but it is a temporary state. If the Elves are not restored to the Blessed Haven, and their race dies out before the gate is opened, thenallsupernaturals will face the same fate of becoming bound to this in-between. Souls are energy. They cannot be destroyed, but neither will they be able to venture on to other spiritual planes of existence, or reincarnate into this one. After an eternity’s passing, there’s a worry that these souls will cease to exist at all.”
“What about the gods?” Queen Emmaline insisted. “Surely they can do something.”
“This is a great fight between the gods,” Takahashi said. “The dark gods that populate the Eternal Torment— hell, as you all know it— don’t wish for the gate to be opened. If souls are unable to journey to the Blessed Haven, they are able to be harvested. If a soul has a choice of being imprisoned in this in-between forever or servicing a dark god in hell, there are some who would take hell, and every soul that joins itself to dark forces increases hell’s power.”
“It can’t end there. Ava’s prophecy determines that she will be the one to decide what will happen to all magic. What does that mean?” Daddy asked.
“Our magic comes from spiritual sources— our gods, our connection to the afterlife, the Familiars that incarnate as our souls,” Takahashi said. “If our connection to the Blessed Haven and our gods are lost, it would be a cataclysmic situation. There’s no telling who would retain power over their magic, and who would not, who would survive and who would immediately perish.”
“It’s a similar situation to my wife’s quest that we faced twenty years ago, but on a much grander scale,” Ethan said.
“Yes. It’s assumed that those who have sworn themselves to dark gods or who are channeling their power from the Eternal Torment would remain alive and in control of their magic,” Takahashi said. “Which is exactly what we don’t want.”
“That’s where Ava comes in,” Hemlock said. “Whoever she decides to help, heaven or hell, will win. She will choose who keeps their magic and who does not.”
