“Droga’s had the Crystals for nine months,” Emma said. “What did he do with them?”
My tone was regretful as I said, “Droga has used the Crystals to open up multiple portals to hell, to bring monsters of unimaginable power here. Once here, he combines these monsters with the ones living on Earth to fashion grotesque hybrids, ones that are nearly unbeatable in combat. He’s training them to bolster his forces and make him even more unstoppable. He’s attempting to make his army so strong that he can enslave the rest of the supernatural world.”
Emma blinked as she took it all in. “I’m surprised he didn’t use the Crystals to take over Earth, and the other supernatural societies.”
“That is his eventual plan,” I said. “He hasn’t moved to attack the other magical races, because even with the Crystals, a war against all supernatural kind is going to be difficult to win, especially against the vampires and the angels. The other races have their own gods as well that he’ll need to defeat. But heisbuilding his army, and making war plans. He’ll attack sometime within the next year if things keep going his way.”
“How do you know for certain?”
“Finlay and Amantha are our intel. They’ve disguised themselves in Dolinska and are spying on Gabby’s inner circle,” I said. “They left the estate shortly after you vanished. Honestly, I think they were the only two people who didn’t give up after you vanished. Both of them still have hope a rebellion can be raised against Droga, and that Malovia can be what it was again.”
“At least someone’s still trying,” Emma mused. “What about Gabby? Please tell me you got rid of her.”
“Gabby has already been elevated to godhood. She and Droga had their wedding shortly after they obtained the Crystals, and he used his power to make her a goddess. She’s practically unstoppable now.”
“Haven’t any of the fae fought back?”
“The fae are tired, Emma. As our connection to Edinmyre weakens, the faeries grow weaker with it. Our magic is waning.” I sighed. “It’s only a matter of time before the portal shuts for good, and all of the fae die with it.”
“Don’t Gabby and Droga care if all the fae are turned to dust once the portal to Edinmyre is shut? Droga won’t have his great army if all his soldiers are dead,” Emma said.
“That is a piece of the puzzle that we can’t quite figure out, but opening the portal to Edinmyre appears to be one of the last of his concerns, otherwise, he would’ve united the Crystals by now,” I said. “From what Finlay’s gathered, he wants to prevent that from happening at all costs.”
“This is so strange. There must be a reason.”
“Indeed, but we haven’t figured it out yet.”
“It’s a miracle you’ve managed to keep the estate concealed.”
“Finlay and Amantha gathered that Droga attempted to use the Crystals of Harmony to find you, but couldn’t,” I stated. “It was a mystery, because the stones couldn’t locate you on any plane of reality, not even your body. Since you were nowhere to be found, he assumed you were dead and lost interest in pursuing us. You were the one he felt threatened by, after all. The rest of us are inconsequential to him.”
That had been a moment of complete devastation for me; when I’d learned that not even the Crystals could find Emma. I’d nearly believed I’d conjured her up as a figment of my imagination, because according to the stones, she didn’t exist, and never had. The thought had almost driven me mad.
“Gabby wouldn’t give up looking, though.”
“I don’t think she ever did, but she’s had more interesting things to deal with than searching for you. Being a new goddess gives her more magic than she ever dreamed.”
“So much has happened while I was gone.” Emma ran a hand through her hair. “I wish I could’ve been here to prevent it all.”
“We did our best without you. Even if you were here, I don’t know if you could’ve stopped it,” I said.
Emma nestled her head on my shoulder. “Well, at least you’re all alive and safe. I didn’t have to lose any more friends.”
“Everyone’s safe, although your arrival came at a very peculiar time,” I said. “Stefan and Delmare’s wedding was to be today.”
“What? I didn’t know they were getting married today,” Emma gasped.
“They were supposed to,” I said. “Since you’ve been gone, they more or less decided they wanted to celebrate their last days together. But now that you’ve returned, they’re probably going to put it off.”
“No, they shouldn’t,” Emma insisted. “I’m back, so Stefan and Delmare’s wedding should go on. We all need a reason to celebrate.”
I nodded. “Agreed. I’ll tell them to go ahead and get on with it straight away.”
When we returned to the dining room, nobody made any crude jokes or playful banter about what we’d been doing upstairs, and Emma noticed. She cocked her head slightly and tilted her mouth downward, like she’d been expecting someone to make a sex joke. That nobody did was alarming in itself, to her.
She didn’t understand. We weren’t the fun-loving, easy-going group we had been. Everything had changed.
Arthur must’ve put the twins down for bed, because neither of them were here. He was twitchy in his seat, as if he wanted to finish the conversation and get back to them.
