As soon as I cross through the gate I am so overwhelmed by the scene in front of me that my voice fails me. I am rendered speechless, or songless, by shock—and by trying not to wretch from the carnage at my feet. The ravine is filled with shadows, but through the darkness, I can still make out the dead bodies. Some are covered in flesh-eating sores, others look as though the soldiers turned on each other, like what I witnessed when the Keres were first released. But they’re all the same, lifelessly strewn on the ground around us.
My gaze searches for Tobin amongst the dead, but I can’t really make out the features of any of them—especially the ones who look as though part of their faces have melted away. Then I scan the ground for the Key, but see no sign of that either. If only there were a way to shut the gate and keep more Keres from escaping into the mortal realm.
Only a few of the Skylord soldiers who proceeded through the gate before us remain standing. One soldier, only a few feet from me, is wrapped in a black cocoon of a Keres, who is feeding on his life force. Another soldier tries to strike the Keres with his spear, but the weapon passes through the shadow creature and impales his comrade in the shoulder.
The man screams, and another three Keres swarm the two soldiers. Haden grabs my arm and tries to push me back through the gate. “It’s too late. Too dangerous. We have to go back,” he says frantically. His words finally shake me out of my shocked state and I don’t let him deter me. I step around him.
“These people need my help.”
Haden protests, but a swarm of Keres descends on us. I sing a scream, louder than ever before, causing the Keres around us to take solid form. Haden flings two blasts, freeing the two men I’d seen in the Keres’ embrace.
The few soldiers who survived regroup into their rectangular formation, creating a wall in front of the gate with their shields and spears, allowing for the rest of our group to pass through the gate, one by one, into the Underrealm. When Joe enters, brandishing his sword, his eyes go wide with shock. For a moment I think he is about to turn back, but instead he joins the soldiers’ huddle. Dax and Abbie are the last to enter. They hold hands just like Haden and I did. All of our friends made it through, but only about twenty-five of the Skylord soldiers remain, including Terresa and Ethan’s friend Jessica.
I keep singing, trying to keep the Keres solid and killable, but my voice is growing hoarse. Matching the high-pitched shrill of the Keres is murder on my vocal cords. It kills me that I’m not able to physically fight like the others, but I know my part in this is the most important. Without my voice, the others would be defenseless, even with all their special powers.
“What should we do?” Ethan asks. “Go back or press forward?”
Haden shakes his head as if he doesn’t know the right answer. I grab his sleeve and point out of the ravine. “Palace!” I have to sing the word in my screeching tone because if I let the song drop, the Keres will lose their solid form. “The women and children.”
Haden shakes his head again, remorse filling his eyes. “We’ll never make it there!” he shouts to be heard over the screeching. “Not even with the protection of the phalanx. It would take days. Based on the Keres’s numbers, the odds that there are any survivors are slim at best.”
I tap my pomegranate necklace. “I can teleport.” I feel more than silly singing the words, but I have no other choice. “We can’t just leave them there. I can go to the palace and check it out. Bring any survivors back here.”
Haden lobs a lightning bolt over the wall of shields, taking out a Keres that was attempting to fly off with Crux in its clutches. The Skylord drops to the ground with a sickening crunch. He moans and rolls over, clutching his leg. Aris and Jessica break away from the formation in order to drag him back to safety.
“You’re the only one that necklace works for?” Haden asks.
I nod. As Persephone’s heir, I am the only who can control her Kronolithe—at least, according to Shady. My mind wanders for a moment, wondering what has become of my unlikely friend . . .
“That’s no good,” Haden says. “You’re the only one who can teleport to the palace, and you’re the only one who can keep the song going here. If you leave, the gate will be unprotected. All of these soldiers will die and the Keres will escape into your world. Our first priority has to be protecting the gate.” He tries to squeeze my hand but I pull it away.
I shake my head, refusing to believe it even though I know he’s right.
Haden swallows hard. “Believe me, Daphne, if there was a way to do both, I would will it for the Fates to make it so. I don’t want to let my people die, but even you can’t be in more than one place at once.”
Tears well in my eyes as I think of the Lesser boy who shared my breakfast and the woman who brought my clothing. I think of all the other innocent people who will die because I can’t make it to them. My voice begins to falter from emotion but I choke back my cries. I can’t lose control or I won’t be able to sing.
“She can’t be in more than one place, but I can,” Jonathan says. He shoots a Keres with an arrow and then crouches beside us. I notice he only has three more arrows in his quiver.
Haden nods but I just stare at him, not sure what he means.
“Music is from the metaphysical realm,” Jonathan says. “Now that I am a god of the Metarealm once again, that means I can manipulate it. I can take Daphne’s voice and spread it through the Underrealm. I can keep it here while she goes to the palace.”
I clap my hands together. I have no idea how Jonathan’s plan will actually work, but I grab on to the idea with all my heart. We have to at least try.
“You’re forgetting one thing, Daphne. You said your vocal powers do not work on the royal grounds. Even if Jonathan can spread your music throughout the realm, if you go to the palace you will be unprotected.”
“I don’t care,” I sing. I can’t let innocent people continue to die because I wasn’t willing to try to save them. I told Tobin not to blame himself for Garrick freeing the Keres—that that choice was on Garrick alone—but I cannot rid myself of the guilt I feel over being the one who put the Key in Garrick’s grasp. That was my choice.
I hold my hands out to Jonathan, telling him I am ready.
Haden tries to protest, wanting to protect me, but Jonathan clasps his hands over mine. He closes his eyes, and a moment later he disintegrates into a golden mist. My eyes go wide and I wonder if they’re playing a trick on me. The golden mist swirls around my face as I sing and then dives into my mouth and down my throat. It feels as though I am choking until the mist sails out between my lips. It pulses and glitters, and slowly the misty particles form into the shapes of tiny musical notes. Then the strangest thing happens—I hear my voice outside of my head. It sounds like a recording. Distant and higher-pitched than normal. The mist sails away, circling through the ravine. It splits in several directions, taking my voice with it.
The Keres, still solid but no longer focused on attacking just me, break apart and follow the different paths that my voice takes. I can only hope they can’t harm Jonathan in his metaphysical state.
“Dax, Joe, Ethan, Crux, Psyche, and Abbie, stay and protect the gate,” Haden commands. “Jessica, Terresa, and Aris, take small bands of soldiers and follow the Keres. Attack and kill as many as you can while they’re broken off from the flock.” He turns to me. “You can transport me with you?” he says, pointing at my pomegranate.
Yes—I try to say the word but no sound comes out. My hands fly to my throat. Jonathan hasn’t just copied my voice, he’s removed it from me. It feels like being stripped of my heart and soul. I take a deep breath and hold my hand out to Haden. Now is not the time for panicking. I mouth the words, “Yes, I can take you with me but I don’t want to put you in more danger.” No music in the palace won’t just mean I will be unprotected, it means he will be as well.
Haden shakes his head, and at first I think he doesn’t understand what I was trying to convey. But then he holds his hand out to me and says, “We do this together or we don’t do it at all. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
I take Haden’s hand, knowing he is right.
“Let’s go save your people then, my queen,” he says.
I close my eyes and imagine the one place in the palace I can picture best. A moment later, Haden and I land on the bed in my queenly cell.