Chapter 49
Enid
No one in Fairwitch had gotten any sleep last night.
The high prince had called an emergency town meeting and had given everyone the bad news.
I was surprised by how calm most remained.
After all they’d been through, they were a tough bunch, but moving to a new location once again was going to be hard—especially when they’d be sharing that location with the Fair Folk.
That news had shocked everyone the most.
Now I stood at the edge of the town, staring out over my bog, saying one last goodbye.
If I turned the other direction and faced the barrier, I’d see the brotherhood crawling all over the marsh, their maroon hoods stark against the green backdrop of the Cragh.
I hated them for the way they misused the godwitches’ magic.
If the godwitches were here to witness their actions, the brotherhood would be punished.
The deities had always believed their magic should be used for the good of humanity.
Of course, there were some bad seeds. Godwitches like me whose magic was darker, more dangerous.
But for the most part, their magic was supposed to help mortals.
“It won’t be goodbye forever,” Nevan said from my side, his arm around my shoulder. “Like Ambrose said, he can portal you back and forth so you can gather the seeds you need, and you can make new gardens on Kiln Mountain.”
“The Fair Folk have never liked me much. They have a contentious history with godwitches,” I said.
“Well, they’ll have to deal with that if they want to be a community.” The protectiveness in his voice warmed my heart. “Can we go through the plan one more time?”
I glanced behind me at the empty town of Fairwitch Isle. Everyone was taking shelter in the castle, but I’d volunteered to meet the Fair Folk and make sure it all went as smoothly as possible.
My stomach twisted at the potential ways this could go wrong.
“Are you okay?” Nevan hooked his thumb under my chin and lifted it.
“I just want to get this over with,” I said.
“What do you mean?” Nevan asked. “What could go wrong?”
“Nothing,” I said quickly.
“Enid.”
After I’d drugged Nevan and run away, we promised no more secrets.
“There are ways portaling can go wrong,” I admitted.
I’d seen it firsthand. “Half of a body can get stuck in one place while the other half gets stuck in another.” That hadn’t been pretty to witness.
“Sometimes if the faery portaling loses concentration, they can get lost somewhere between the two places. In a nothingness of sorts.”
Nevan’s eyes bugged out.
“There’s also been an occasion or two where someone arrives in the new location and drops dead, their body unable to handle the strain of portaling.”
Nevan held up his hand. “Okay, I get it, and I need you to stop talking now.”
I winced.
“I have to believe none of that will happen. That the magic of the castle will keep everyone safe.”
I nodded. “Me too.”
His blue-gray eyes softened like they always did when he was about to say something nauseatingly sweet. “I just found you. I’m not letting you go so easily.”
I gave him a weak smile as Ambrose’s familiar swirl of blue and gold magic appeared right outside the barrier of Fairwitch, except larger than I’d ever seen.
A massive fog of blue and gold overtook the bog in front of us, and when it cleared, at least fifty Fair Folk stood there, Ambrose in the front.
Nevan gasped at the faeries, all of them with different skin colors and hair colors—some with tails or manes or whiskers. It was going to be an adjustment for mortals and Fair Folk to live together.
“Are you ready?” Ambrose asked, seeing right through Castle’s invisible barrier.
Nevan grabbed my hand, holding it tight.
“As ready as we’ll ever be,” I said. We needed to hurry, to do this before the brotherhood found a way to infiltrate Fairwitch Isle like they had before.
Ambrose raised his arm, and the rest of the Fair Folk followed in suit, all of their hands outstretched.
The faintest blue shimmer appeared in front of the faeries, the outline of the portal beginning to form in a swirling circle that stood as tall as the castle.
“Wow,” Nevan breathed, arching his neck. “That’s incredible.”
In the distance—behind the Fair Folk—the brotherhood had all stopped what they were doing, stiffening and turning in our direction. Some pointing.
“Nevan,” I said, “does it look like the brotherhood are acting strange right now?”
He cut a sharp look my way. “I thought you said they can’t see the Fair Folk. They shouldn’t be able to see any of this.”
The shimmers of the portal were slowly solidifying, filling the portal with swirling blue magic. Once the inside was completely filled, the portal would be ready to whisk us away.
A few of the brotherhood openly gaped at us, and some of them ran to notify others, who started walking in our direction.
“They definitely notice something,” Nevan said.
I didn’t hesitate before I tugged him forward and outside the barrier of the city. We turned at the same time and both saw the same thing: Fairwitch was exposed. The portal was already at work, sucking the city toward it, and that meant it had sucked away the barrier first.
“No,” Nevan said. “It’s supposed to be invisible. What is going on—”
I whipped around and waved my arms at the wall of Fair Folk in front of us. “Stop,” I yelled. “You have to stop!”
“What are you doing?” Nevan asked. “We need this portal. Especially now.”
“And we’ll have it,” I said. “But we can’t risk the brotherhood going through the portal and coming along with us. Then we’re all doomed.”
Nevan’s eyes widened in horror, and he joined me in waving and yelling at the Fair Folk.
The portal wavered, no longer growing in strength, just idling, half filled.
“Ambrose.” I ran to him, an idea forming. “Portal us over there. Right between you and those humans.” I pointed at the brotherhood, who had all started running straight toward Fairwitch.
“What?” Ambrose yelled.
“Just do it!” I said. “Do it and then complete the portal and get Fairwitch Isle out of here.”
Nevan clutched my hand tighter as a much smaller portal appeared before us in a swirling circle of blue.
There was no time to hesitate or think this over. I knew what I had to do. We jumped in and stepped out behind the Fair Folk as the brotherhood ran through the bog, straight for us. We were the last defense.
Nevan wobbled on his feet. “It feels like my body is made of water right now. Same as last time.”
I winced. It always felt like that. He’d get used to it. We had to stop the brotherhood, and there was only one way to do it. I swallowed and pinched my amulet between my fingers, my blood heating and sparking with its magic.
Thick, ropey stalks shot upward from the earth, and some of the brotherhood faltered.
“What are you doing?” Nevan asked. “Enid, you’re going to drain the rest of your magic.”
“I know,” I gritted out as I commanded more vines to rise.
The brotherhood charged now, the ground quaking as hundreds of them stampeded toward us and let out battle cries.
Nevan turned toward me. “You’ll never be able to create anything again. You won’t ever be able to join your family in the Otherworld. You’ll be . . . human.”
“Good,” I said between heavy breaths, this immense use of magic draining me. “I want to be human. I’ve been planning on it, anyway. Didn’t I tell you?”
“No,” Nevan said, “you forgot to mention that.”
More vines broke through the marsh, twisting together and sprouting black thorns.
We hadn’t discussed it, but I’d hoped to travel to Kiln Mountain and use my remaining magic to create new plants, new seeds. That wouldn’t be possible now.
“You don’t have to do this,” Nevan said. “You don’t have to make this kind of sacrifice, Enid. You’re already one of us.”
“That’s . . . why I’m . . . doing this.”
The brotherhood roared in unison, so close now that I could see their varied faces, skin tones, and hair color under their maroon hoods.
My legs trembled and my arms quaked. Sweat dripped down the sides of my face.
“I need you to hold me upright,” I said. “I’m getting weaker.”
Nevan put his arms around my waist while I commanded more. More vines. Taller. Thicker. Thornier.
Pain throbbed in my temples, and my whole body squeezed tight like it was a wet rag, wringing out every last drop of magic I had. My bones felt like they could crumble to dust.
The brotherhood were a few paces from the wall of vines, but I could still see them clearly, which meant they’d be able to squeeze through. If they breached my wall, they’d follow Fairwitch through that portal.
“I can do this,” I gritted out.
“You are doing it,” Nevan said in awe. “Your magic is saving us all.”
“Nevan, stop this,” a voice shouted, and Nevan jolted next to me as I concentrated on filling the holes of the wall.
“Lor?” he asked, body stiff.
If the man responded, I couldn’t hear. A ringing filled my ears, my vision almost entirely black, but Nevan’s grip on me was strong. I wasn’t alone. Nevan was here, literally holding me up, facing this head-on by my side.
I let out a scream, and the earth shook under our feet. Nevan’s grip stayed steady, grounding me. I couldn’t see or hear, and I wasn’t sure if I’d survive this, but I knew I would save Fairwitch Isle and Nevan, and that was all that mattered.
My magic was near its end, my blood no longer singing, my body no longer vibrating. All that was left were little pinpricks of power dancing over my skin, the touch featherlight. It no longer felt like lightning flowing through my veins.
My head lolled back, and I was dipping in and out of consciousness. I swallowed and gave one final command: tear the earth apart. And then my legs gave out completely.
Nevan and I tumbled to the ground together, and I had no idea what was happening. My brain was foggy, my body fatigued beyond measure. Still, Nevan held me tight, and somehow, his arms, his body pressed to mine, his hands stroking my hair, helped me cling to consciousness.
“We’re safe,” he said, his voice so far away that I could barely hear it. “You saved us. Rest, Enid.” He kissed my forehead. “Just rest now.”
And, for once, I decided to listen.