The next morning, Celine woke early. Her night had been restless, with her falling in and out of sleep over and over, thanks to wild, scary dreams. First, she had dreamed of Tarragon escaping the Dark House and coming after her, with the No-Name sword. Another dream had her drinking the poison Ulric gave her to escape Tarragon’s wrath. In one dream, Caynin had told her he loved her right before he plunged a dagger into her heart. When she woke, she’d reached for her little sister, who was not there.
When she had gone back to sleep, the dreams that had followed were worse. In these ones, she was the villain. How could she not be? She possessed magic that she did not understand and struggled to control. She was a ticking time bomb. She had let the Prenumbras into Earth. Who knew what she would do next?
Celine got dressed before the sun was up and went to the courtyard where Dagan had told her they would meet. She was the first to arrive and sat on a stone bench to wait. The air was chilly, but not cold enough for a jacket, and she could hear the waves breaking on the rocks.
Flint and Dagan showed up together, talking as they entered the courtyard. Celine rose to greet them. Moments later, ten other Fata arrived, all carrying long, sharp swords and wearing silver armor. An image of the Evergreen Crown was painted on their chest plates. The tropical leaves that the crown was made of looked green, real, and vital.
“Should I also wear armor?” Celine asked. They would face Prenumbras, yet Flint and Dagan were not wearing armor.
“No,” Dagan told her. “The armor is heavy and will only slow you down.”
It was a reminder of how weak she was, and Celine cringed inwardly. She trained hard and had become much fitter and stronger these past few months, but, sometimes, she felt like her efforts went to waste because she would physically never be a match for the Fata.
“The plan is for you to get in and out. You need to focus on the portal, not fighting,” Dagan explained as the warriors gathered around him in a circle. “This is how this is going to work; the ten of you will go in first – distracting the three Prenumbras. Draw them away from the gate. Then Flint, Celine, and I will rush to the portal, close it, and open a new portal through which all of us can leave.”
“That sounds straightforward and easy,” Flint said.
“I doubt it will be easy,” Celine mumbled.
She folded her arms to prevent Dagan from seeing her shaky hands. She was scared. She hadn’t had enough time to practice her magic, and she was second guessing her ability to control it. Dagan made her furious. Three months had passed in which she had done nothing but waste time. If she hadn’t worn the protective ward, would she have mastered her power?
“Are you all with me?” Dagan asked.
“Yes, Prince,” came the answer.
They went to the stables and saddled their own piateks. The leather bridle did not have a bit as it would be impractical with an eagle’s beak. Celine’s female tossed her head, almost knocking Celine over and making it hard to get the bridle on. Celine stood on her toes, and the piatek raised her head out of reach.
“Can I help you?” Flint offered.
“No,” she said though clenched teeth. If she could not even control a piatek, how would she ever control her power?
Celine was panting once she’d finished saddling her piatek and was mounted. Luckily, she hadn’t finished last – one of the warriors had. When everyone was ready, they galloped toward the Globetrot-tree. Dagan rode in the front then Celine close behind with Flint. The sand on the beach slowed the piateks, and Celine found herself enjoying the ride. She still felt clumsy in the saddle, but her body was slowly becoming accustomed to her piatek’s rhythmic movement. She enjoyed riding more than she enjoyed the cars in the human lands.
Once they reached the Globetrot-tree, Celine asked Dagan, “What happened to the piateks we rode yesterday?”
“They returned home on their own,” Dagan said. Which meant they had escaped the shadows and were intelligent enough to use the Globetrot-tree. Celine petted her piatek, suddenly having new respect for it.
Celine didn’t open a portal to the waterfall because they feared her magic would draw the Prenumbras’ attention. Also, it took some time to recharge, thus she didn’t want to use too much to get there; she needed most of her magic to close the door. Once they reached the Globetrot-tree, they linked hands and Dagan touched the bark.
“To the Everwhite kingdom,” he said.
The world was spinning again, and Celine fought the urge to vomit. Did Fata bodies also react like hers to the the Globetrot-tree’s magic or did they remain untouched? If humans touched the tree, they would die, because the magic was too much for their fragile bodies to handle. Celine might be human, but since she had been born Fata and possessed the Egress Key’s magic, traveling by Globetrot-tree didn’t kill her.
When the world stopped spinning, they released each other’s hands. Celine looked around at the familiar woods through which she had hiked so many times. It was significantly colder here than on the beach in the Evergreen Kingdom, and the sun was obscured by trees.
Dagan, who knew his way around all four Eternity Kingdoms, led them toward the river. They didn’t speak, and the atmosphere was tense. It was as if any sound they made would alert the Prenumbras and result in their death.
Celine felt clumsy between the faeries. They sat as gracefully and still as cheetahs on their piateks, which walked cautiously, sinking away in the snow, but still soundless. Celine, however, heard her every breath, and her hips swayed in the saddle.
The snow grew less as the waterfall became visible, so their party ducked behind the bushes. They looked around, and when they didn’t see any Prenumbras, Dagan signaled for his men to proceed. Without hesitating or questioning his command they left the bushes and moved into open sight then stood waiting for something to happen.
The waterfall was powerful, its spray strong, and the pond into which it fell was filled with fish and tadpoles. There was no sight of the Prenumbras, but the portal’s energy in the air was like a breeze on her skin, a reminder that they were drawing near.
Celine held her breath, and when her lungs began to burn, she finally released it. Flint glared at her as if she had made too much noise and was going to betray their position. She glared back at him.
Dagan kept his eyes on his males, who stood by their piateks, hind legs together, in a circle with swords drawn. The forest was too quiet. No birds sang nor did squirrels climb in the trees. Maybe they, too, sensed the otherworldly energy this place possessed and had fled.
None of the Fata were curious enough to approach the door to peek inside. All held their ground and remained like that for a while. Just when Celine thought nothing was going to happen, a Prenumbra appeared at the other side of the river. It could no doubt sense the Fata magic and was hungry. In one giant leap, it crossed the river.
Celine admired Dagan’s warriors for not fleeing. The Prenumbra came to them, and Celine could have sworn it was smiling as its body shimmered in and out of shape. One Fata swung his sword, but the blade broke against the Prenumbra. The Fata looked at his sword hilt as if he could not believe what had just happened. Then the Prenumbra stepped forward and tried to grab the faerie, but his piatek lashed out with his claws before retreating a few steps.
Another faerie attacked the Prenumbra from behind, but the Prenumbra spun around, caught the blade, and twisted his sword away. The blade hadn’t drawn blood, and he let it drop to the ground before he grabbed the male’s arm tightly. The piatek reared, and the faerie fell to the ground without the Prenumbra releasing his grip. Screams filled the air as his magic was stolen, as his body grew weaker.
Celine didn’t want to sit there like a coward. How could she do nothing while innocent males were murdered in front of her? She almost sank her heels into her piatek’s sides, but Dagan leaned forward and grabbed the reins close to her piatek’s nose.
“Not yet,” he said, a threat in those emerald eyes.
She must focus on the bigger picture. She had to close the door, or more Prenumbras would come, and more Fata would die.
Celine was all too aware that Dagan would not release his hold because he understood her tendency to try to save everyone.
Two more Prenumbras appeared downriver. They saw the Fata and their piateks and rushed to them in blind hunger. None of them was foolish enough to stay to fight a battle they couldn’t win. They ran away from where Dagan, Flint, and Celine were hiding, drawing the Prenumbras away. The first had drained the male completely of his magic. When he pulled away his hand, the victim fell to the ground like an old, broken gray doll. Then the Prenumbra followed the faeries.
“Go!” Dagan released Celine’s wrist. He did not have to tell her twice; she was ready.
She kicked her heels into her piatek’s sides, and they sprinted forward, splashed into the river, and climbed the rocks to the portal. She took a deep breath and tried to convince herself she could do it as she dismounted.
“Dagan,” Flint said. “Didn’t you say there were originally four Prenumbras guarding the door?”
Celine heard Dagan reply, “I did.”
“Then where is the fourth?”
Celine looked back in time to see that the fourth Prenumbra was hiding in the tree above them. It dropped down, onto Flint. Flint fell off his piatek, lost his grip on his sword and cried out. Dagan immediately swung his sword at the Prenumbra’s head, but it shattered. Shards of sword fell onto Flint’s face, and he brushed them away. Celine couldn’t focus. She was panicking. She tried to stay calm and close the door. But all she could do was watch while Flint tried to shove the Prenumbra off. She almost bolted toward them. The Prenumbra raised his hand, and Dagan leapt to the ground and grabbed the thing’s wrist in an attempt to stop him from slamming it into Flint.
Celine shook her head and looked back at the wall. Her heart was hammering, and her whole body was shaking. She tried to picture the portal closing.
“Save yourself!” Flint cried.
But Dagan did not abandon his Waerie. The Prenumbra abruptly twisted his wrist free and slammed it into Flint’s chest. Flint made a sound that suggested all the breath had just left his body. Dagan was not giving up. He kicked the Prenumbra with all his might, but it did nothing. Then his piatek leaped into the air and collided with the Prenumbra, and he managed to push the Prenumbra off.
“Celine, hurry up!” Flint called as he got to his feet. His voice was weak enough to make Celine wonder how much of his magic had been stolen.
Celine was shaking. Focus. Focus. Focus. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to ignore her surroundings. The wall was big and didn’t have a handle. She could move it with her mind. She could shut it with her mind. She could hear the stones moving. She could hear the door sliding shut.
She opened her eyes. “I did it!”
“Great! Now let’s get out of here!” Dagan said, moving away from the Prenumbra.
“What about your warriors?” She glanced into the direction where they had disappeared.
The warriors did not return, but the other two Prenumbras did. They appeared like two panthers whose bellies were never full. Had they killed all eight Fata warriors so quickly? Celine looked at the corpse of the faeries who had been killed first. They had never stood a chance.
“Open a portal! Now!” Dagan commanded.
“But your warriors…” she said.
“They are dead!” Dagan said. “Open the portal.”
He and Flint retreated toward Celine while keeping their eyes on the Prenumbras. Flint walked stiffly, as if he had aged twenty years in a matter of seconds. The piateks attacked the shadows with those huge claws, but the shadows just shimmered in and out of form, and the claws passed through them.
Celine jumped from the rock into the water and landed on her feet. She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. She imagined the water forming a circle again that would take her back to her room in the Evergreen Kingdom. When Celine opened her eyes, the portal had materialized.
Instantly, the first Prenumbra was in front of Dagan. It threw him into the water, and his head went under. Before the Prenumbra could continue attacking, Flint tackled him. They rolled onto the long grass that grew at the side of the river. Dagan’s head broke the surface.
“Go!” Flint cried. The two other Prenumbras were approaching fast.
Celine tried rushing toward Flint, to help him, but Dagan grabbed her arm.
“Let go of me!”
“You can’t help him!” Dagan cried.
“I have to try!” she screamed.
The other two Prenumbras were by Flint now – ready to feed on his magic. He kicked and punched, but it did not help his situation. As Dagan’s Waerie, he was supposed to save Dagan and protect him. Not the other way around.
Dagan knew, just like Celine did, if he went back for Flint, they would all die. She watched as he met Flint’s terrified eyes, and when Flint nodded, they knew his Waerie would want him to leave him there. The piateks jumped into the portal first, and then, in one swift motion, Dagan threw Celine over his shoulder and stepped backward into the portal. It closed once they were in Celine’s room.
Two other Fata were present; one was repairing the window and the other the closest. They jumped when Celine and Dagan appeared.
“What did you do? What did you do?” Celine cried and shoved Dagan away.
“I made a logical decision,” he said.
“Logical? You left your friend to die!”
“It’s what he wanted,” Dagan growled. He turned his attention to the two Fata, “Leave.”
They did as he commanded, taking the panting piateks with them.
Celine ran her hand through her hair. “You’re a strategist. You took those ten warriors with us as bait – to distract the Prenumbras. You knew they were going to die.”
“They gave us enough time to close the door,” Dagan said.
“You and Flint didn’t wear any armor so you could move quicker and get away. Flint was in on your plan.”
“You are frightfully smart.” This did not sound like a compliment.
“You didn’t want Flint to die,” she said.
“I didn’t want anyone to die, but sacrifices needed to be made. We succeeded. This is a victory. A happy moment. The portal is closed.”
But Celine was not happy at all. They had achieved their goal, but they had achieved it in a terrible way. Did Dagan feel Flint’s loss? His Waerie had been at his side for many years. Celine had not been friends with him, but she hadn’t wanted him to die. And those Prenumbras would kill him in the most agonizing way.
“I’m going back for him.” She could just open another portal…
“Don’t be absurd,” Dagan snapped. “Those Prenumbras were on top of him. He is already dead.”
Celine shook her head. Everywhere she went, death followed. The more lives she tried to save, the more died. She glared at Dagan. There were times she thought he cared about her, but in the end, he cared about himself the most.
“If the Prenumbras captured me,” she asked in a low voice, “would you go back for me? Or would you leave me to die?”
Dagan looked her in the eye without wavering. He did not say a word as he left the room. It made her believe she meant no more to him than Flint had.