by May Dawson
It’s the same core of magic we all carry, witches or wolves. It’s a needless war.
But since none of us could convince the witches it was a needless war, we still had to fight it.
And yet…
“Jensen,” I called to him.
He slammed his fist into a wizard and wrenched his wand away in one smooth motion, tossing the wand over his shoulder. “Yeah?”
“Let me try some magic on you,” I said.
“We’re in the middle of a fight here, babe,” he shouted over the sounds of chaos all around us. “You want to do an experiment right now?”
But no matter how skeptical he sounded, he fought his way to me.
“It sounds ridiculous when you call me babe,” I told him.
“It sounds ridiculous when you interrupt a fight, but here I am,” he told me.
Several Establishment magicians rushed at us at one time, but I raised a shield, forming a bubble around us. They bounced off.
“We only have a moment,” I said. “Maybe you should take your shirt off for this.”
He smirked down at me. Apparently, we always had a moment for him to be cocky about those abs.
“I love you, you’re crazy,” I told him, reaching for him as magic sparked around my fingertips.
“Right back at you, babe.”
I gripped his shoulders, my golden magic washing over his tattooed body. I imagined my magic pouring into him, giving him some of my power.
The Dark Collar had taken the core of magic hidden inside all wolves.
Maybe I could give it back.
The next second, Jensen’s body went stiff as golden magic suffused his frame. For a second, he appeared lit from the inside out.
Then it was gone. He was just Jensen, looking at me with a confused look written across his face.
The shield had come down in that moment when I gave up some of my magic, and I whirled to fight the magicians who rushed at us. “Shift!” I called to him.
Jensen didn’t doubt me for a moment. He shook his shoulders out, letting his sword drop to the floor where it clanged against the marble. The next second, he followed the sword down, dropping to his hands and knees.
And a second later, he was once again in the form of an enormous wolf.
“Rafe!” I shouted, and he whirled from his fight to see Silas. He blasted the rebel magician he was fighting with a wave of magic and ran toward me.
“You figured it out,” Rafe told me, his dark eyes intense. “I knew you would.”
“You had more faith in me than I had, then,” I said, already grabbing his shoulder to pour my magic into him.
“Well, to be fair, I have a little more sense than you do—” he began, and I grinned at the banter just before he went silent and stiff, my magic washing through him.
I patted his cheek as the light faded and he came back. “You can try and convince me of that, Rafe, but I’m the one who always knew we belonged together, no matter how much you fought it.”
“Touché,” he admitted. His lips parted as if he had more to say, but he was already transforming, and suddenly an enormous wolf dropped to his paws. Werewolves can’t make comebacks, so I had the last word for once.
“Maddie, Maddie, Maddie,” Tyson said into my ear. “I leave you alone for a week, and look at all the trouble you get into.”
“Don’t leave me alone then,” I told him as the two of us closed up back to back. We were still surrounded, and it was still a desperate fight, even as my wolves unleashed on the wizards surrounding us.
“Never again,” he promised me.
That never again might be because there was no future for the four of us. But as long as we were on our feet and fighting, I’d keep holding onto hope.
More Establishment magicians were pouring into the square. Silas threw a shield up around himself because he was surrounded by a dozen of them. He was breathing hard, staggering on his feet; even Silas must have spent much of his magic. But his gaze found mine across our sea of enemies.
“I would choose an adventure with you in any world, Madeline Northsea,” Silas told me. “No matter how long it lasted.”
“Same, Silas Zip,” I promised him.
“Wait!” one of the guards shouted. “That’s Maddie Northsea! It’s the girl from the prophecy!”
Suddenly no one seemed intent on killing me.
The world tilted quickly yet again after that. Word reached one of the judges, and suddenly his voice boomed with magic as he called to his people, calling them off. One by one, the fight ended. Silence grew in the air as people dropped their swords or wands to their sides, and the crack and clash of battle ceased.
Tyson and Penn and I all stood there, exhausted and bloodied and disbelieving, staring at each other. Even in wolf form, Jensen and Rafe came to a stop and looked confused.
“Free my friends,” Silas called to the judge, not wasting any time. The judge nodded and called to one of the guards.
The magicians slunk away, disappearing, leaving just us and the judge.
The judge looked at the two giant wolves, then the three of us, and said, “I’m so sorry for the misunderstanding.”
I’d be sorry for the misunderstanding if I was on the wrong side of wolves, too.
“What the hell just happened?” Silas demanded then, turning to Tyson and me.
“There’s prophecy about you, Maddie Northsea,” the judge explained. “None of us knew what it meant before. But the guidance from the Gods is to help you in your quest.”
Tyson turned away, hiding his flash of a mischievous grin from the judge, and I wondered what the hell he was up to. But I’d worry about that later.
“Thank you,” I said. Then understanding dawned on me. “Did Warren Campbell know about the prophecy? He wanted a win—any win—because he didn’t have the shield and if he didn’t have Silas and me, he had nothing?”
The judge frowned. “Warren Campbell knew who you were?”
I nodded. “He heard my name, and he freaked out. That was why we were gagged.”
“He’ll be dealt with,” the judge promised.
“Good,” I said, then frowned myself. “Just… don’t burn him at the stake. If you’re in the mood to take my advice, given the prophecy and all, you guys really need to re-work your judiciary system. Less… torture and burning.”
I wasn’t sure how the judge would react to my criticisms, but it didn’t matter, because Isabelle, Sebastian and Frederick were racing across the marble toward us. I grinned as Isabelle barreled into my arms, giving me a big hug.
“Maddie,” she said. “I’m so sorry.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” I promised her.
Silas hugged Isabelle and Frederick and Sebastian, all of us glad to escape an ugly fate. But he hugged me longest of all. I smiled against his coat.
“They should call you the incredible Maddie Northsea,” he said.
I groaned. “Let’s not.”
He planted a kiss on my forehead, then pulled away, gripping my shoulders to turn me around.
Tyson stood there, a familiar grin across his face.
I threw myself into his arms and clung to him tightly.
“You came for me,” I whispered. “You heard me?”
“I heard you,” he whispered.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Silas
I’d never been a hero in anyone’s eyes but my own before, and it was a nice change.
The burning party turned into a big fete in our honor. Apparently, new prophecy had been revealed about Maddie Northsea. The old ones that Keen and the other Rebels intercepted were that the Rebels needed her to win the war.
The new prophecies were that we needed her to save our whole world.
Jensen remarked at that being pretty convenient, and Tyson shushed him. I was looking forward to learning more about that story.
Not only did the judges come to the party, but the king himself.
Maddie insisted to him tha
t the Rebels should all be pardoned, that the end was coming to the war between Rebels and Establishment but that the only way forward was to forgive and move on.
“We will consider it,” the king said, and I dragged Maddie away before she could insist any more that he pardon us all right now. Maddie was made of magic, but there were limits to how fast people can change their minds when their thinking was hardened by war.
But I’d bet that her word carried a lot of weight right now, and maybe everything was going to be okay.
Maddie looked up at me and brushed her lips against mine, and I kissed her back hard.
“Thanks for saving my world,” I whispered to her.
“I’m not sure how exactly I’m supposed to do that,” she whispered back.
I shrugged. “Trust the prophecy.”
We shared a small, secretive smile. Then she said, “You’d better say goodbye to your friends before we go back.”
I nodded, although I saw her face change with whatever she saw reflected on my own. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but instead she just gripped my hand for a second and leaned up to brush a kiss over my cheek.
After all, my thinking had been pretty hardened by war, too. I didn’t want to give up either of my families, and yet the reality of what I had to do was like a burning blade against my throat.
“Frederick,” I said, gripping his shoulder.
He turned to flash a smile at me. “Silas.”
He was carrying two mugs, and he passed one to me. Everyone else was drinking champagne, but of course my friend had managed to get his hands on coffee-and-whiskey. He thought it was the nectar of the gods.
And apparently, the gods were on our side.
“How did you know what I’d want?” I asked, raising a mug to him in a toast.
“I actually got it for Isabelle, but don’t tell her.” He clinked his mug against mine.
“Are you two good again?” I asked.
He nodded. “You know how romance is. Just because you hate someone sometimes doesn’t mean you don’t still love them.”
“Love is ridiculous.”
“Yes, but so is magic.”
“I remember hearing this story about you bumbling something at Eastbrick,” I said. “From Warren Campbell.”
“Ah yes. Where is he tonight, anyway?”
“I think I heard he’s been assigned to a very important mission to collect magical trout from under the ice at Holium,” Frederick said.
“I’m sure he’ll shine.”
“I’m sure he will.”
“About Eastbrick,” I said.
“I pretended that I’d sighted you,” Frederick said, “and given how Warren Campbell feels about you, he was so distracted that I was able to help two Rebels who had almost been caught escape. What did you to do the man anyway?”
“I just have a face people love.” Of course Frederick had been trying to save his fellow Rebels all along, even as he’d been trying to save Sebastian and Isabelle.
“You could all stay here, you know,” Frederick said quietly. “They might see you as a hero now, because of your connection with Maddie.”
“How long would I be a hero if I stayed long enough for people to get to know me?”
“I know you, Silas. Since we were kids. And I think you’re a hero.”
Isabelle appeared at his side. “Even if you are kind of goofy sometimes.”
“Shh.” Frederick rested his arm around her shoulders, drawing her close. “I’m trying to convince him to stay.”
Isabelle smiled slowly, but her eyes were sad.
It was almost as if she anticipated what I was going to say. Isabelle always had a gift for reading people.
Slowly, I admitted, “I’ve always thought you guys need me. But it turns out, the Greyworld is in good hands.”
Sebastian rested his elbow on my shoulder. “I don’t like the way that sounds, Silas.”
“I’ve always tried to convince myself that the Greyworld needed me—and Maddie’s world too—and that I didn’t need anyone,” I admitted.
Across the room, I could see Maddie dancing with Rafe to the bright, cheerful music. They seemed to be taking turns stepping on each other’s toes, but they were both laughing.
“I think I had that backwards,” I said. “I think I needed all of you even more than I needed to be—”
“The incredible Silas Zip?” Sebastian raised his glass in a toast. The others started to follow, but I cut them off.
“I made the incredible Silas Zip up when I was a miserable kid who didn’t know if I’d ever be happy with who I was. I thought that being him would make me happy. But… I was just a kid. Let’s… let’s all let him go.”
They nodded as if they understood, and then Isabelle flew into my arms. “I hate to say goodbye to you, Silas.”
My arms closed around her as my friends surrounded me, hugging me. “Maybe it won’t have to be goodbye forever,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure if that were true.
The torn universe had to heal or it would keep ripping itself to shreds. That meant no more travel between worlds. Sooner or later, it would be damaged beyond the point of repair.
“Dragons!” Someone screamed from the doorway.
My friends—both Rebels and shifters—ran with me, and we headed down the stone steps to see a world on fire.
A rip had formed right in the center of main street, and dragons were rocketing through it.
“Well, we escaped burning once today, might as well go for twice,” Maddie said, as her magic rippled between her fingers.
“We weakened the fabric when Tyson came through,” I said. “We’ve got to stop. Maybe the Establishment was right about one thing. Maybe it’s time to seal this world off from the others so it can’t keep tearing.”
Maddie and I exchanged a long look. Was Alfred right when he claimed I had enough power to pull the same trick as Arthur—to sacrifice myself to magic with a sleep spell, and save the worlds?
“First,” Sebastian said, “Do you think you could help us deal with the crisis at hand?”
“My pleasure,” I said.
It was good to fight alongside Isabelle and Sebastian and Frederick.
One last time.
But as the last dragon crashed into the marble judicial terrace, razing it to the ground, I pulled Isabelle aside. “We’ve got to go now. And I need your help.”
She nodded. “You want me to kill you.”
“What are best friends for?”
“I’m going to miss you, Silas.”
“I’m going to miss you too.”
Neither of us pretended we were saying see you later. If all went well, this was goodbye.
And it would hurt—all my life, I imagined.
I formed a portal, hopefully the last one I’d ever form in my life. Golden magic glowed around the frame of the door, and then I imagined it solid.
It was a plain wooden door that looked just like one of the doors back in the academy dorms.
“Silas,” the king called. He glanced at the four of us, then back at the ripped-open sky. “if this works, no more Rebel magicians will be charged for their past crimes. It’s time to heal our world.”
I nodded back at him. I never thought I’d hear those words.
Jensen, Tyson, then Maddie, walked through the portal.
Rafe waited for me.
“I’ll be right there,” I promised.
His eyes were troubled, but he jerked his head in a nod. “Make sure you do come through. I don’t know what we’d do without you. Maddie needs you.”
I stared at him for one long second.
Rafe’s lips quirked at one corner. “Fine. I need you. Every team needs… every family needs the rebel, the one who brings the chaos and the magic in equal measure.”
Rafe didn’t apologize, but then, I didn’t apologize much either.
“Come home, Silas,” he said. He gave me a nod as if he were hoping I’d make the right choice, then
turned toward the door.
This time, he strode through without looking back.
Through the door, I glimpsed pine trees and the distant roofs of some of the academy buildings. Peace settled into my soul along with sadness.
I hated to leave Isabelle, Sebastian and Frederick, but I knew where I belonged.
Isabelle worked the spell that would kill me in this world, but only in this world. As long as I fell through the portal as soon as my heart stopped beating, I should wake up in the next world before any brain damage could occur.
Fingers crossed.
“I always thought I’d die before I was twenty,” I told her as she gripped my shoulders. The two of us stood right at the doorway, ready for her to push me through as soon as she killed me.
“And of course you always have to be right, you prick.” Her eyes flooded with tears, but I knew that wouldn’t stop Isabelle from doing what needed to be done.
I said one last goodbye to my friends, and then I fell.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Maddie
When Silas stumbled through the portal, he fell into the grass. Rafe instantly turned him over, checking his vital signs. His face was slack.
“No pulse,” Rafe said, and my heart stopped in my chest. “I’m starting CPR. Except…”
He seemed to debate for a second, then he slapped Silas across the face
Silas came to life, pushing Rafe away, drawing a ragged breath as if he’d been drowning. “Have a little respect for a dead hero, Rafe.” His voice came out in a rasp.
“You left that world behind,” Rafe said drily. He offered Silas a hand to help him up. “Welcome back.”
“Yeah. Feeling…welcome.” Silas touched his jaw, working it back and forth a few times. Apparently even an open-handed slap from Rafe carried quite a bit of power.
“Did it work?” I asked Silas.
A big white wolf streaked toward us. Unsure if it was one of ours or one of the witch-aligned packs, I started to pull my sword. Then I recognized him.
Lex.
He skidded to a stop, already transforming, and then he wrapped me up in his arms. “Maddie! You got us the shield!”
