It made sense. If what the Pool had shown Ethan was true, Droga was going to win, and he’d enslave every supernatural race, just like he wanted to. Kalina was going to grow up in a warzone, and the world was going to be devastated by him and his fae army. The vision Ethan had seen must be some sort of dark future. Kalina had formed a group of rebels and refugees from all the races to take Droga down. That’s the only thing that made sense.
Another Great Supernatural War was coming. The only question was when it would start. If Kalina was twenty years old in the vision, and preparing to go to battle, it only meant that this great war would start because Droga had used the Crystals to the height of their power, and succeeded in his mission to take over the magical world. Why else would Kalina side with a warlock, the greatest enemies of our people? No fae would willingly pair up with a witch unless they were that desperate.
I stopped my thoughts right then and there, because I refused to allow that to happen. “No. There’s still hope, because we can change reality by what we believe,” I stated firmly. “There has to be a way to stop this.”
I didn’t want Kalina or Kazim to grow up in a world that was constantly fighting and never at peace. Now we had a chance to stop the chaos between the magical races before it began. Malovia was at war, but we could still keep the rest of the world safe. If we wanted to stop Droga, we had to find this crown, which meant we needed to go after the questing beast that took it.
I hoped the monster still had it. If it didn’t, I wasn’t sure where else to look.
We took a portal back to the estate. I was eager to tell everyone what we’d learned, but once we arrived, another portal appeared beside ours. Three men stepped out. My heart dropped as I saw the disappointed faces of Stefan, Alexei and Arthur. None of them had the crown in their hands.
I already knew what they were going to say, and prepared myself for it. More bad news.
“We found the questing beast, but it was dead,” Arthur noted. “The pit was empty, and the crown was gone. We have no idea where it went.”
“Were there any clues as to who took it?” Ethan questioned.
“Nothing. The questing beast looked like it was torn to shreds by another animal,” Stefan said half-heartedly. “Wherever it is, it’s long gone now.”
Discouragement rattled around my empty insides. The only weapon that could defeat Droga was out of our reach, and there was no telling who had it now.
I wasn’t giving up. If that crown was our only ticket out of this mess, I was getting my hands on it one way or the other.
Unfortunately, we didn’t even know where to start looking.
As we approached the house, Theo came running out the front doors at full speed. Both of us stopped in our tracks, and I wondered with despair what was wrong now.
“Odette and Kiara are missing,” Theo said breathlessly.
“What?!” Alexei’s voice was panicked. His whole form began to shake as he asked, “Where is she?”
“Odette tried to sneak off to follow Emma to the Pool, and Kiara went after her. By the time we realized they weren’t here, none of us had seen them for hours,” Theo said in despair.
“Could they have gone off by themselves, and still be traveling back from the Pool?” I asked.
“No.” Theo shook his head. Tears marred his eyes as he said, “We found the scent of strange shifters lingering in the woods. We think it was an abduction. They’ve been taken prisoner.”
Chapter Seventeen
Ethan
“Where were they taken?” Emma demanded. “Did you find any clues?”
“No,” Theo said. “Nothing was left behind by the assailants, except their scent, which we can only trace up to the edge of the woods surrounding Trua Gleann. We’re not even sure whatcountrythey might be in.”
Alexei was quivering beside me. I put a hand on his arm, for I feared his knees might buckle. I knew exactly how he felt right now, and gods, it was hell if there was one.
“It sounds like they took a portal,” Emma said.
“If there are enemies in the woods, why isn’t Droga here yet?” I pressed.
“The scent of the assailants was near town, not the estate. Our wards are still concealing the mansion,” Theo noted.
“But why would they go that far?” Emma questioned.
“Odette and Kiara must’ve had a hard time summoning a portal, so they tried to fly there.” Theo shook his head. “IknewI should’ve kept a closer eye on her.”
“That doesn’t make sense. It would’ve taken them days to reach the Pool from Ireland by flight,” Emma argued.
