I wasn’t so sure about that. It was clear my great grandfather really didn’t want to kill my mother, but he actually knew her. He had an attachment to her. But me? I was practically a stranger. Without a very clever contract from Sebastian, my grandfather would have no reason to release me after my mother did what he wanted. Maybe part of him wanted to get to know me, but ultimately his actions were based in practicality.
I stepped around Marcie, giving her a wide berth. She cradled her bloody hand, Ringo now standing proudly at Sebastian’s feet. Feeling brave, Ringo bared his teeth at Marcie when she looked at him. Though once I reached Sebastian, he scampered back onto my shoulder.
“I’ll do what he wants,” I said, “and with the contract, he’ll have to let her go, unharmed.” I looked at Sebastian. “You did put her being unharmed as part of the contract, right?”
“What kind of an amateur do you take me for?” Sebastian rolled his eyes.
“Unharmed,” I repeated, turning back toward Marcie, then jumping when I realized Penelope was now standing right next to me. Clearing my throat, I finished, “And I don’t want to see you again. I’ll save my mother myself.”
I reached for Sebastian’s free hand, but instead, he handed me the Realm Breaker. A little part of me was surprised, knowing he had been after it for so long. It was solid, but lighterthan it looked. Probably because it was made from pure celestial magic and not steel. Penelope’s eyes lingered on the blade, but she had already admitted she needed either me or my mother to use it for her.
Marcie simply watched me, her mouth sealed into a grim line.
Finally, Sebastian took my hand and Penelope once again gripped my sleeve. I thought of the other guys, leaving Marcie and the pocket realm behind.
The world snappedback into focus around me, and I found myself standing in the middle of chaos. The Circus was in shambles—tables overturned, glass shattered across the floor, and everyone locked in desperate combat. Gabriel was holding off three of my grandfather’s men with that big sword of his, his face contorted with effort. Braxton’s pack had closed in around us, and there were so many bodies I couldn’t even pick out Crispin or Mistral, though I could still sense them both.
“Eva!” I heard someone shout, but the voice was drowned in the cacophony.
Sebastian squeezed my hand before releasing it. “They don’t even realize we left,” he murmured. “Time must have been altered in that place. Probably to keep anyone from looking for you.”
Ringo clung to my shoulder, probably just as confused. But I understood then that my great grandfather’s manipulation extended beyond just me. Time had barely passed here while we were gone. This was all part of his plan, to create enough distraction that I could be taken. To eventually unravel this citythat he believed should never have existed in the first place, whether it be by darkness or our own doing.
“We need to end this,” I said, gripping the Realm Breaker tightly. The sword hummed with power in my hand, almost alive. “If we’re going to heal the pathways, we can’t be fighting each other.”
Not really knowing what I was doing, but hoping I could get everyone’s attention, I raised the sword skyward. Power surged through me, connecting with the blade, and a beam of pure light shot upward, punching through the Circus’ ornate ceiling. Plaster and wood rained down, but the light held, a beacon that stopped everyone in their tracks.
“Enough!” My voice carried with a power I’d never felt before.
Everyone froze, except for Penelope, who dusted plaster from her shoulders, wrinkling her nose in distaste.
6
No one moved. I spotted the fairy with dusky purple hair, the one who’d been part of my kidnapping, and pointed the sword at him. The hilt felt warm in my palm, buzzing with energy.
“Call off your people.”There. My voice only shook a little bit. “The bounty has been claimed.”
The fairy’s eyes were glued to the sword. Sweat beaded on his forehead. “The Realm Breaker. But how?”
“I think you should be running, not asking questions.” The sword’s weight pulled at my tired muscles, but I kept it level.
His gaze lifted to the glowing pathway now shimmering out of existence like fading liquid moonlight running up into the night sky, then back down to the sword in my hand. With a slight nod, he fled. We all let him go, and the rest of his people scattered like leaves in a storm. I tried to avoid looking at the bodies on the ground—some still, others twitching in pain. Instead, I searched frantically for each of the guys, my heart calming only after I’d found them all standing. Then I looked for Braxton. After a moment of worry that knotted my stomach, I spotted him too, blood-spattered but alive. He helped clear apath for Crispin and Mistral to reach us, followed by Elena with several other elves.
Crispin’s shirt was torn, his hair all over the place, and blood dripped down one side of his face. But of course he was smiling, and I knew it wasn’t just for me.
Reaching me, he leaned one elbow on my shoulder, then quirked a brow as he looked down at the blade I had lowered to the floor.
“Dude, you’re dripping blood on me!” I stepped away.
As I turned to look at him, he reached his fingers toward his forehead, dabbing at the small gash there. He lowered his fingers and looked at the blood. “Considering I was wounded protecting you, you would think you would be proud to soak up my blood.”
“Gross.” I handed him the sword so he could observe it without dripping on me. Ringo got brave enough to emerge from my tangled hair as all of our allies gathered around. Anyone who had been in the Circus but not part of the fight had cleared out when it first happened. Fortunately since it was a known haunt of magical beings, there was no sign of human police to break things up. We tended to handle our own.
Crispin twisted his wrist, observing the blade. I was pretty sure it was some sort of metal, but looked like it was made from mother of pearl. I had no idea how I’d used it to make that glimmering pathway in the sky, but it had faded away now, leaving only a rather conspicuous hole in the ceiling.
The sword flashed with glittering light in Crispin’s hand as he turned it. Noticing the flickers of light, he extended the blade in front of him, pointing the sharp end toward the ceiling. The longer he held it still, the more the glimmers of light solidified, forming a pattern in the air between Crispin and the sword. “It’s not just a blade to sever the pathways. It’s a map.”
While the guys stood closest, several werewolves had come to observe the sword, and the elves and fairies were mutteringamongst themselves. A few angelics and gargoyles stood further back, both white and stony wings blood splattered. We had actually done it, at least in part. Step one was complete. Now I just had to fulfill my part of the bargain and create new pathways for everyone to their home realms.
