“That’s bullshit,” Stefan snapped. “That’s not something you would say. That’s something the Phantom’s put in your head.”
“The Phantomisme,” I hissed. “You could never understand!”
Alexei’s eyes darted between us before his gaze landed on me— as if he was sensing something confusing, and couldn’t figure my emotions out.
Emma narrowed her eyes. “I know it’s important to the fae to live and die free. But they won’t live at all if time runs out and the portal to Edinmyre is closed. I won’t let centuries of fae history come to an end because we were too busy with personal grudges.”
“Gabby and Eli aren’t a personal grudge,” I said, though I felt a twinge of a lie as I said it. “They’ll destroy Malovia.”
“They’re looking for the crystals, too. We can’t give them an opportunity to find them, and the monarchy is a distraction. Let them have the throne, for now,” Emma said. “We’ll fix it later once we have the stones.”
“We won’t have alater, Emma. You don’t understand what the consequences are of getting the wrong people in power,” I said.
“Listen to me.” Emma fumed. “Milonna wouldn’t have appeared to all of us if I didn’t need everyone’s help here to find the stones. You were there, so that includes you. That means Milonna thinks I need you. If you die, or are imprisoned, you can’t help us find the Crystals of Harmony. Then we really are dooming the fae, because those stones will be lost forever. It’s the will of the goddess for you to help me!”
I couldn’t care less about the will of the gods at that moment, but Kiara spoke up. “Emma’s right. The choices we have are obvious. It’s clear if we stop Gabby and Elijah with the knowledge we gained tonight, we lose Ethan. Either we turn Gabby in, and Ethan dies— or Gabby and Eli stay in power, and Ethan stays to help us find the Crystals.”
“Then let me die! Don’t you guys understand I’m ready to sacrifice myself for this?” I snapped.
“But the rest of usaren’twilling to sacrifice you,” Alexei said viciously. “We won’t kill a friend, no matter what’s on the line. We’re in this together.”
“Ethan, as much as you don’t want to admit it, you’re a prince. That title is valuable,” Emma pointed out. “Your status can help us spy on the Circle and the other royals, as well as the rest of the people in power. If the remaining stones are with high-born fae, like the wolven stone was, we won’t find them unless we have someone on the inside. That’s you.”
She had made an excellent point, but I wasn’t giving in. “Use Stefan. He’s high-born.”
“It’s going to look very odd if I start getting involved in politics,” Stefan said. “You’ve always been concerned for your country, so it doesn’t appear strange if you keep tabs on things. The Circle knows I’ve never cared. It’ll seem suspicious.”
“You’re acting like we don’t have a choice!” I argued.
Delmare came forward. “There is no choice to be made. The road ahead is the only path we have to take,” she said. “We’ve tried all semester to get these people off the throne, and nothing we’ve done has worked. We need something stronger than Gabby and her dark magic. If we have those crystals, nothing can stand in our way. We get the stones first, then use them to take Gabby and Elijah down.”
“Exactly. I’m glad you see my point,” Emma said.
“Are you all really agreeing with her?” I raged.
Stefan shrugged. “She’s the Worldweaver. What she says goes.”
He was trying to bait me. Emma’s jaw worked. “If you guys don’t agree with me, let’s call a vote,” Emma said. “Who thinks finding the stones should be our top priority?”
Emma raised her hand, and everyone in the courtyard followed suit. I was the only one who didn’t.
Clearly, I was outvoted. I sighed. “Fine. I suppose we focus on the crystals. For now.”
Theo cut to the middle. His tone was flat as he said, “If we’re going to do this, we need areal pact.I no longer want to be a part of this group if we’re going to keep lying to each other. We need to be completely honest.”
“And loyal,” Kiara said. “What happened tonight between Ethan and Emma can never happen again, between any of us. No more secrets.”
Emma met my eyes, and her own darted away quickly. I felt the pressure of shame close in on me, squeezing me tight.
Stefan and Delmare shared a secret glance, as if she was asking him a question. Stefan nodded swiftly. It was then Delmare rose from her seat. “There is a binding spell known by the dragon Faction. Dragon warriors used to make it before battle, to vow they wouldn’t retreat no matter how bad it seemed. It’s called the dragon oath,” she began. “We can make such an oath to find the crystals. If we take this vow, we swear to be faithful to each other until our task is done, and will pay whatever price in order to complete it. As dragons, Stefan and I can bind the spell.”
“What are the consequences if we break it?” Alexei asked nervously.
“You can’t break an oath like this,” Stefan said. “You’re honor-bound to it until you die. Even if you try to betray the people involved, you’ll never escape your fate. It’ll always come back to haunt you, until you fulfill your word.”
No one said anything, until Odette spoke up.
“I think we should do it,” Odette said. “The fate of the fae is more important than all of our lives. No matter what sacrifices we have to make. Milonna appeared to all of us. She wouldn’t have done that if she didn’t want us to help Emma.”
