A light of hope came back into Ethan’s eyes. “Then let us press on! We can’t save everyone, but we might be able to restore the country! The sun hasn’t gone down yet!”
I wasn’t sure if uniting the Crystals now would have any effect, now that the time to restore the portal had passed. But dammit, better late than never. We took off into the woods at a run, racing for the Sacred Gathering’s hold.
There was fighting everywhere in Dolinska— and I truly meant everywhere. Fae were in the woods, battling corpses and fleeing for their lives. Dust was thick on the wind, and I choked on it as fae turned to ash before my very eyes. I saw sorceresses and shifters vanish, gasping their last before dissolving into thin air, only for their ghostly souls to appear on the very spot they’d perished, and give chase after us. I must’ve watched dozens of fae hiding in the woods become particles, floating away as their mates called their names. We didn’t stop to fight the corpses or the ghosts, just pursued onward.
A spell flew by my head and nearly knocked it off. I skidded to a halt, turning in place to see who’d thrown it.
It was Morgan— one of Gabby’s crones. She had blood streaked all over her face, and looked absolutely murderous.
“Quit running and face me!” Morgan shouted. She approached with another spell in her hand. She had to be deranged. She was alone, and hopelessly outnumbered.
She needed to get out of our way. We were trying to stop this!
“Where’s Melissa?” I snapped. Her twin sister had to be somewhere nearby.
“Like I’d tell you,” Morgan snarled. “I was on the battlefield! I watched you kill Gabby! She was my queen, but more than that, she was mybest friend!”
“She wasn’t your friend! She was your bully!” I screamed back. “She constantly picked on you and pitted you up against your sister for her own entertainment. That’s not someone you should grieve!”
“You don’t get to tell me how to feel,” Morgan shouted. “Gabby was mean to me, but she gave me a new life as a noble lady in her court. You won’t get away with ruining my station!”
Morgan tossed another spell, but I put a shield up to block it. The spell bounced off of it, backfiring against its caster and sailing in Morgan’s direction.
Morgan screeched. She didn’t have time to get out of the way before her own spell collided with her torso. The spell spread across her skin like embers on burning paper, and with a high-pitched scream, Morgan withered away, a final blast creating a small crater in the ground as her entire form burst outward like a star exploding, glimmers of light ricocheting outward.
I didn’t even stop to observe the smoking pit. Morgan had chosen her own fate, and if her sister was smart, she wouldn’t try the same thing her twin had and stand against us.
We left the charred hole behind and kept going. About a quarter of a mile before we reached the Sacred Gathering, we reached a line of the walking dead. They held swords in their hands, and lifted a shield wall to prevent us from getting through.
A lump formed in my throat. We couldn’t push forward that large of a force without condemning a few of us to their deaths.
Ethan took a breath, preparing to tell us to fight. Before he could, a massive figure strode out of the trees and approached the line of soldiers.
It was Professor Desmona. Her sword was streaked with gore, and a huge cut across her face bled madly as she faced the corpse army with the look of a true warrior.
“Go, my queen,” Desmona called to me. “I will hold them off.”
I forced myself to speak, although my voice was strained. “You can’t fight—”
“I can, and I will, even if it means the end of me,” Desmona replied. “Run.”
Ethan yanked on my arm, and my friends and I broke off running in the opposite direction, to go around the line of soldiers. From behind us, Desmona challenged the dead army.
“I hear the voices of my ancestors calling, beckoning me to the Great Hunting Grounds!” Desmona cried. “You cannot make me fear you!”
There was moaning from the corpses, a war cry from Desmona, the clashing of steel. I dared to look behind, although it was a glance that I would regret for the rest of my life. Tears streamed down my face, and I let out a choked cry as I watched Professor Desmona be buried under a pile of walking dead, her screams of victory choked out as she was brutally slaughtered.
I prayed that Desmona would raise a mug of ale tonight with her ancestors in the Great Hunting Grounds. But first, we had to set her spirit, and the souls of the other fae, free.
I broke into sobs when I saw the sight of the Sacred Gathering. The cauldron hanging in the middle of the circle had never looked more welcoming. When we got to the clearing, I fell to the ground and tipped the bag over. The Crystals came spilling out from the bag, though I shoved the silver crown back inside. I used my magic to unforge the Crystals from my sword, the circlet and the dark necklace and they fell one-by-one onto the ground.
“Oh, Emma, please hurry,” Odette whimpered. “He’s coming.”
My heart raced, and a tightness strangled the life from my chest as I heard the sound of hoofbeats approaching. Droga knew we’d defeated his wife, and that we had the stones. He was going to stop us from performing the ceremony.
Over my dead body.
“Place these in a circle around the Gathering!” I screamed. I distributed the stones, giving them to my friends and Ethan. I clutched the Unseelie stone, racing to put it at the top of the circle and across from the Seelie stone as the others put the wolven, dragon, alicorn, and griffin stones into their respective places.
