“Don’t be mad at Jas. He didn’t mean to.” Ozzie’s body twitched, and he pressed his nose to my middle.
“I could never.” I wanted to take him to a better place. I sniffed and choked out, “Do you remember our tea party? How warm the sun was that day, and how wonderful those raspberry tarts tasted?”
“I wish I could,” Ozzie gasped. “All I remember is how Jasper screamed.”
My heart tumbled inside my chest. Damn Gabby. Damn her for everything she’d done.
“Emma. He’s in pain,” Ethan said quietly. I turned my head. He’d changed back into a man, and had a hand on the hilt of his blade.
Terror festered inside of me at the terrible suggestion. I looked at all the arrows protruding from Ozzie’s body and knew that every second I kept him holding on was selfish. This wasn’t fair to him, and at the current rate, he could lie in agony for hours before it was all over. Ethan was bestowing an act of mercy.
Ozzie wept silent tears. “I want to go home.”
He wasn’t talking about Ireland, or Dolinska. He wanted to be with Jasper.
It would be cruel to deny him that.
I kissed Ozzie again and shakily stood. “You can go home, Ozzie.”
His ragged breathing tangled my emotions. I didn’t know if he’d heard me, or how aware he was of his surroundings. Ethan jerked his head toward the trees.
“Come on, Emma. We don’t need to see this.” Amantha took me by the shoulders and guided me away. Kiara followed us, taking my hand.
I didn’t want to leave him, but at the same time… I wasn’t strong enough to watch. And Idespisedmyself for that. I don’t think Ozzie noticed us leaving, though. I could see the small semblance of a smile on his face, like he was merely glad to be in the company of the people he loved.
As we entered the forest, I heard the singing sound of metal echo through the clearing as Ethan drew his sword.
Ozzie whispered, “I love you all. You’re such good friends.”
The three of us walked for a while, until we found a creek bed. I sat on a rock and hugged myself as I stared at the rippling water. The long moments dragged on and on. I didn’t know when it would be over.
I felt so cold.
Eventually, there were footsteps in the brush behind us. I turned and saw Ethan approaching, his sword sheathed. Alexei and Finlay followed, their heads bowed.
“We buried him where he was. Though he was a small dragon, we couldn’t carry him back to where Jasper lay,” Finlay said quietly.
They should’ve been buried together. This was all so unbearably sad.
Amantha’s voice was trembling as she asked, “What do we do now?”
The wind whipped through the trees, such a powerful gust that it nearly knocked me off my feet. I placed my hand on an oak tree to steady myself as I said, “There’s nothing lefttodo. Gabby has the Crystals. It’s over.”
Ethan nodded glumly. “Let’s just go back.”
I carelessly cast a portal. We stepped through it, and once we set foot in Ireland, the reality broke me. I crumpled to the ground, and Ethan barely had time to catch me.
“On your feet,” Ethan said, and he lifted me upward. He put his arm around my hip to steady me, and we proceeded toward the estate’s double doors in a state of utter defeat.
This felt worse than losing Dolinska. We’d been given a second chance, and we’d thrown it away.
Everyone looked up in hope as we entered the foyer. Odette, Theo, Stefan, Delmare, Arthur, my parents and my grandparents were clustered around the fireplace, waiting for good news.
Their faces became crestfallen as they saw we’d returned empty-handed.
“The stones are gone,” I said hoarsely. “Jasper and Ozzie are dead. Gabby has the Crystals. We’re… it’s done.”
There were no wails of disappointment. Just the silent sound of everyone’s heart breaking all at once.
