“You met Sibyl?”
“I did,” she said. “I needed to speak with the Queen of the Underworld, Proserpina. Sibyl helped me get to her. You see, as the patron goddess of plebs—common people, like the half-bloods—I suspected Proserpina would hear me out. I was correct. After I explained the situation, Proserpina argued to Pluto on my behalf. Pluto’s biggest weakness is his love for his wife. She pushed the right buttons, and he agreed to give all chosen champions a free pass to Elysium.”
“But that doesn’t make their deaths irrelevant,” I said. “Elysium or not, their lives were cut short.”
“And the chosen champions weren’t the only ones who suffered,” Julian added. “What about our families?”
“I provided your immediate family members with a generous lifetime stipend,” she said. “They’re all well taken care of.”
Hot rage shot through my veins, and I shook my head, unable to believe what I was hearing. “How would you feel if Kyla died?” I asked. “Would a lifetime stipend, no matter how generous, ever replace the loss of your daughter?”
She lowered her gaze, took a deep breath, and then looked back up at me. “No,” she said sadly. “But I’m not only a mother to Kyla. As the Empress of the Otherworld, I’m a mother to the entire realm. I need to do everything I can to keep this realm from falling. That meant agreeing to the Faerie Games, so that was what I did. And my decision seems to have been the right one. If it weren’t, then we wouldn’t be standing here today.”
“You don’t know that,” I said.
“She might not,” Prince Devyn said. “But thanks to my gift, I do. Without the magic Jupiter gifted to you, you couldn’t have beaten Fallon. And it goes beyond that. Our iron allergy makes it so fae can’t wield holy weapons. But half-bloods can. And chosen champions are the strongest half-bloods, thanks to their gifts from the gods. The chosen champions who won the previous Games and who now reside in the citadel are the key to bringing down the afflicted fae in the realm. You see, the Faerie Games didn’t exist solely so you could rise. They also existed to slowly create our army over time. That army is the only chance we have in slaying the afflicted.”
Chills prickled along my arms.
Because as twisted as it was, it made sense.
“What’s done is done,” I finally said, since I couldn’t change the past, no matter how awful it was. “And I’m happy to tell you the cure, as long as you promise to end the Faerie Games forever.”
“Done,” Sorcha said. “Now, regarding your return to Earth—”
“Immediately after we tell you the cure, you’ll give all eight of us—me, Julian, Torrence, Reed, Thomas, Sage, plus Julian’s mother and sister—portal tokens that will bring us from your private courtyard in this house to the Trevi Fountain,” I interrupted. “We’ll be able to leave when we want, and you’ll do nothing to stop us. The tokens will remain ours for as long as we’re alive, or until we choose to give them to someone else.”
She tilted her head and smiled in that calm, knowing way of hers. “And if I don’t have eight portal tokens that go from my private courtyard to the Trevi Fountain?”
I nearly rolled my eyes. Because she didn’t actually think I was going to fall for that, did she?
“Do you have eight portal tokens that go from your private courtyard to the Trevi Fountain?” I asked.
“I do.”
“As I thought.” I nodded. It made sense, because if there was some sort of emergency in the Otherworld that would require her to quickly leave for Earth—for example, if the citadel became overrun with zombies—she’d need enough tokens for herself, her daughter, her advisor, and enough guards to keep them safe.
“So it’s a deal, then?” she asked.
“Yes. It’s a deal.”
29
SELENA
TORRENCE LISTED off the ingredients for the cure, and gave instructions about how to make it.
The Empress’s eyes narrowed as Torrence spoke.
“And that’s it,” Torrence finished. Despite all the sleep she’d gotten last night, she still had bags under her eyes, but she was pushing through. “The potion will be milky white, tinted pink from the blood.”
Sorcha pressed her lips together and stared Torrence down like she was seconds away from strangling her neck. Then she turned her angry gaze to me.
I stood steady, refusing to be intimidated.
“You didn’t tell me the cure was a potion,” she finally said.
“You didn’t ask.”
She scowled, reminding me of Sage before she burst into wolf form. “You know perfectly well that fae can’t brew potions,” she said. “This cure is useless to us.”
“It’s not useless. It works.” I motioned to Julian as an example. He’d put his sock and boot back on, but his bright steel wings were a perfect picture of health.
“It may work,” she said. “But that doesn’t matter when we can’t create it.”
I wanted to shrug and say it wasn’t my problem.
But there was still more I needed to get done on the Otherworld. I hadn’t forgotten about the half-bloods—both the ones who were still alive and slaves to the fae, and the ones hiding out in the Sanctuary. As soon as I could, I was going to follow through on my promise of freeing them.
Making an enemy of the Empress wouldn’t benefit my cause.
“Strong witches and mages can create potions,” I said simply. “We have many on Avalon who are more than capable of brewing the cure.”
“And we have all the necessary ingredients,” Torrence chimed in. “Except for fae blood. But you’ve got that covered.”
Sorcha glared at her, then returned her gaze to mine. “What are you proposing?”
“Nothing yet,” I said. “I need to consult with the leaders of Avalon first. But when I’m ready, I’ll call for you at the Crossroads.”
Silence.
Then Sorcha straightened, and the anger melted off her face. “We’ll meet there on the next full moon,” she said.
“We’ll meet there when I call for you.” My gaze didn’t waver from hers. “Which will be whenever I’m ready.”
“Why should I believe you’ll ever be ready? You have no reason to have any love for the Otherworld.”
“On Earth, we need all of the help fighting the demons that we can get,” I said. “So we might be able to come to an arrangement that will benefit us both.”
“We can spare some of our chosen champions,” she said quickly. “They’re stronger than most species’ on Earth, and they can wield holy weapons. They’ll be extremely useful to you against the demons. In return, you’ll speak with anyone necessary on Avalon and devise a way to get us as many vials of the cure as we need.”
The desperation in her tone caught me off-guard, especially because I didn’t want any more fae or half-bloods to die, either.
But I needed to do what would be best in the long term.
In this case, that meant seeking guidance from those with more experience than me, and not impulsively agreeing to something that hadn’t been fully thought out. Especially because I suspected the Empress was preying on the fact that I’d acted impulsively in the past.
“I can’t agree to any proposition until I speak with the leaders of Avalon,” I repeated. “So it’s in your best interest to get us there as quickly as possible. But first, a parting gift.”
I glanced to Torrence, and Torrence reached into her pocket.
“No gifts,” Sorcha said, and Torrence paused, the gift still hidden from view.
“Are you sure?” I asked, unable to keep a teasing lilt from my tone. “Because once you see it, you may change your mind.”
The Empress narrowed her eyes, clenched her fists, and I braced myself for an attack.
Did I push her too far?
“Fine,” she said, and I relaxed slightly. “Show me, and I’ll decide if I want to accept it or not.”
Torrence removed it from her pocket and held the vial of milky potion ou
t to the Empress. “It’s the cure,” she said. “All it needs is a drop of fae blood and a witch’s touch, and then you can give it to Kyla.”
Sorcha gasped, her lips parted, and she reached forward to grab the vial. But she stopped herself and lowered her arm back down to her side. “What do you want in return?” she asked, although she spoke to me and not to Torrence.
I smiled, since I’d already prepared for this. “A future favor,” I said.
“That’s a big request.”
“And this potion will save your daughter’s life. Do you want it or not?”
She held my gaze, like she was trying to will me to offer something else.
I didn’t.
“Fine,” she said. “Hand it over.”
“I will,” Torrence said, and then she looked to Julian. “But first, we need the final ingredient.”
Julian pulled a golden dagger out of the ether—it looked the same as the one he’d loaned to Bryan—and held it out to Sorcha.
“Prick the pad of your middle finger and squeeze it into the vial,” I told her.
Torrence uncapped the vial, and Sorcha did as asked. The drop of her blood landed in the potion, and then Torrence popped the cap back on and slowly rotated it so it was upside-down. The Empress’s blood spread out, tinting the milky potion pink. Once the color evened out, Torrence turned the vial right-side up and handed it to Sorcha.
Sorcha took the vial and held onto it as tightly as I held onto the Holy Wand. “It was kind of you to bring an extra vial for Kyla,” she said.
“Kyla’s a sweet girl,” I said. “I couldn’t leave the Otherworld in good conscience without providing her with the cure.”
Sorcha simply nodded, and we watched each other for a few seconds, in what felt like a moment of understanding.
“Selena.” Prince Devyn broke the silence, and I looked to where he stood next to the sack of holy weapons.
“Yes?”
“What do you intend on doing immediately after you return to Earth?”
“Shouldn’t you already know?” I asked, and I pointed to my temple. “Omniscient sight, and all.”
“I see every possible scenario,” he said. “Some good… many bad.”
I shivered, not liking the haunted look in his eyes. “Julian and his family won’t be allowed onto Avalon until they pass the island’s trials,” I said. I’d already explained all of this to Julian, so he had an idea what to expect. “We’re going to bring them to the starting place of the trials at the Vale. After seeing them off, we’re teleporting back to Avalon.”
He eyed me, as if he doubted me. “A good plan,” he finally said. “But no matter what you learn from here, you need to remember that you’re one of the Four Queens. To win the war against the demons, you must act like a queen and put the greater good above your own desires.” He glanced to Torrence, and then returned his focus to me. “Can you do that?”
“Of course I can.”
He nodded slowly, looking doubtful.
He knows something.
“What do you see?” I asked.
“Something that’s not for me to tell. All I can do is encourage you to do what you’ve set out to do. Don’t let anything—or anyone—divert you from your plan. Do you understand?”
“I don’t see what would stop me.”
“You will soon,” he said. “But I’ve done all I can to guide you toward the correct path. My job here is finished. And now, finally, I can move on.”
“Move on to where?” I tensed, not liking how resigned he sounded.
He sounded like Bridget, at the end of the second week of the Faerie Games, when we were inside the chariot heading toward the Coliseum.
“A place where I can finally find peace.” He smiled. “Throughout the years, many have been jealous of my gift. They imagine that if they knew every possible future, their lives would be perfect. But there’s always so much more at stake than my own future. In fact, I most always end up sacrificing my own happiness for the greater good.”
“Which is what you said I need to do as the Queen of Wands,” I said.
“Exactly. You see, what most fail to understand is that my gift is a burden—one I’ve had to carry with me for over a millennium. But now the future is in your hands, along with the other three queens. I’ve lived my entire life to ensure that you rise as the Queen of Wands and return to Earth, ready to rule. And now, the time has come when I can finally release myself of my burden, and pass on to the Underworld.”
My head spun, and the ground tilted beneath me. I held the wand tighter to steady myself.
There had been so many times when I’d wanted to strangle Prince Devyn. Even though he was my biological father, I hated him for what he’d done to me. I’d never forgive him for kidnapping me to the Otherworld and nominating me for the Faerie Games.
But I’d never wanted him dead.
“You can’t mean…” I trailed off, unable to say the words out loud.
You can’t mean you want to die?
Julian stepped up beside me and took my hand. “What if you don’t end up in Elysium?” he asked Prince Devyn.
“I have omniscient sight.” He smiled. “I know where I’ll end up.”
Before any of us could move to stop him, he pulled a holy weapon out of the brown sack, plunged it into his heart, and exploded into a sparkling ball of green light.
I watched, stunned, as the light that had been my biological father floated up and dimmed out like a firework. My feet were heavy as rocks, strapped to the ground below. I opened my mouth, and then closed it again, at a complete loss for words.
Sorcha also stared at the spot where Prince Devyn had been standing, looking as shocked as I felt.
The silence was so heavy that I could barely breathe.
Aeliana faced all of us, her expression solemn, and said, “May his crossing to the Underworld be a peaceful one.”
“May his crossing to the Underworld be a peaceful one,” I said with Julian and Sorcha, my voice hollow. It felt like I was watching all of this from above instead of experiencing it with my own eyes. My only anchor was Julian’s hand in mine.
The others bowed their heads in respect and repeated the words as well.
Sorcha straightened and cleared her throat. “Aeliana,” she said, sharply and swiftly. “Take the sack of holy weapons and make preparations to begin testing them to ensure they’re not forgeries. I’ll bring these six to my private courtyard and see them off to Earth.”
“And my mother and sister?” Julian asked.
“They’re already there, waiting for our arrival,” she said, and she spun on her heel, leading the way.
30
SELENA
WE ENTERED THE COURTYARD, and Julian’s mother and sister rushed at him to give him huge hugs.
I stood back and watched, tears in my eyes. Even though they’d already reunited while I’d been recovering from trying to create the portal to Avalon, this was different.
Because this time, they knew they were going to a place where they could finally be a family again.
They pulled apart, and Julian’s sister—Vita—looked to me. She had Julian’s ice-blue eyes and dark blond hair, but she was so fragile and pale that it was hard to believe they were twins. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for us,” she said. “I can’t wait to get to Avalon.”
I startled at her outward expression of thanks, but quickly recovered. Because even though half-bloods weren’t bound to favors by thanking one another, they tended to avoid the words, since they didn’t want to slip up while talking to a fae.
The fact that Vita had said them was a true, heartfelt expression of gratitude.
“You’re welcome,” I said warmly. “I can’t wait for you to see Avalon. You’re going to love it.”
“I’m sure I will.” She smiled, and in that moment, I knew I was truly gaining a sister.
“You can bond with each other later,” Sorcha said, and she pulled a small golden pouch fr
om one of the pockets in her skirts. “Here are eight tokens that will take you to the Trevi Fountain, as promised.”
I stared at the pouch in her hand. “You had the tokens this entire time,” I realized. “And you had Julian’s family waiting here. You already knew you were going to agree to the deal.”
“Your father was determined to have all of this play out in a particular way, and I trusted his guidance in these matters,” she said. “But he only told me to have Julian’s family wait here, and to carry the tokens with me. I knew nothing more.”
She opened the pouch, and handed a token to each of us.
I took mine last.
It was gold, and about the size of a quarter—just like the one Julian had handed to me when we’d thrown them into the fountain in LA. But instead of Prince Devyn’s likeness on the back, this one had Sorcha’s. Her crown towered so high that it bled off the top of the coin.
“All right.” I turned to face the fountain. “I guess this is it.”
Julian nodded at me, and I prepared to toss the coin into the water.
“Wait,” Torrence said, and I looked to her. She was shaking, and her big green eyes were full of fear.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“There’s something I haven’t told you yet. Something I just found out when I went to Avalon. Something you need to know before we leave.”
My heart leaped into my throat, since whatever this “something” was, it didn’t sound like it was going to be good. “What is it?”
She held my gaze for a few more seconds. “Since you were brought here, the timelines in the Otherworld and on Earth have been different. For each day that passed on Earth, an entire week passed in the Otherworld,” she said, and I nodded, since I already knew all this. “But at some point while the four of us have been here, the timelines merged back together.”
“Oh, right.” Sorcha smiled, and her eyes glinted with amusement. “The Red Storm made it impossible for anyone to leave or enter the Otherworld, so there was no need to have my fae use their magic to uphold the time dilation. You see, the larger the time difference becomes, the harder it is to hold on to. So I had them stop using their magic to alter time, and instead had them focus on upholding the dome around the citadel.”
The Faerie Plague (Dark World: The Faerie Games Book 5) Page 14
