AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You don’t have many people in your corner right now, Chels. I don’t think you should turn down those willing to help you.”
“Can you stop being so damn selfless for a few minutes? I see how much you resent it.”
The sarcastic expression left her face. “It's not about being selfless. This is my duty.”
“Well, as the queen, I relieve you of your duty. I have a new faerie knight. You can go home now.” I moved for the portal.
She trudged after me. “Wait,” she growled. “You're also… my friend,” she gritted out. “And you need my help.”
The tenseness in my shoulders softened. The relationship between us was complicated as hell, but her words struck something in me. “Mina, as your friend, I’m telling you, you’ve done enough. Go back to your family, live your life. And as your queen, I give you a new duty. Watch over them, my family, our friends, this world.”
Her brows drew together as she considered my words.
“Plus, there’s no way the Chimera will let us both through,” I added.
“Okay,” she finally said. “But if things get worse, send word through Illya and I’ll come.” Her head tipped toward Labby Rock. “You’ll have to let me through.”
IfImade it through the portal. “Deal.”
“I’ll wait for you behind the church in the town of Geevagh for three hours. If the Chimera doesn’t let you through, come find me.”
I nodded, a strange tightness gathering in my throat. “Right.” I turned to face the pile of boulders known as Labby Rock. With a deep breath, I took a step toward the portal.
“Hey, Chels?” Mina’s words stopped me and caused me to glance back. “You could visit inside the glass ball once in a while. Even if things aren’t going horribly.”
A grim smile cut across my face. “I’ll remember that.”
“Good luck.” And with that, Mina released her faerie guardian, climbed on, and shot off into the sky.
The enormous boulders sat there, stacked on top of each other as they had for thousands of years. I pressed my hand to the mossy stone. Here I was, returning to the spot where I’d betrayed my friends, the spot I’d always avoided.
The spot where Thaya had died. I shut my eyes. Niamh had come close to killing me with her graceful light unicorn faerie guardian, but Thaya, a dark unicorn had killed her. I couldn’t remove the image of its double pointed horn ripping through her chest, of Thaya impaled. Of the surprise on her face even as her eyes became dull and lifeless.
My fault. My fault.
“Chimera, speak to me.”
I glanced around, checking the trees and the far hills, but still no humans were in sight. The Chimera swirled into being, his lion main ruffling in the breeze, his onyx scales reflecting the setting light of the sun.
“I need through.” Better to cut to the point.
He looked me over, his large snake-like eyes shuttering from the sides. “You do not have the scepter. Why should I let you through?” His voice sounded like the usual multi-tones at once.
“I am the only one who can stop my sisters from laying waste to the Otherworld.”
His head lowered, and I took in the points of those goat horns protruding from his forehead. “You knew that before, and yet you abandoned the Otherworld.”
“And I was wrong. I, I…”
Oh god. I had known that and left, anyway. I fell to my knees in the green grass.
“Please, if I don’t make it through, Dagda will die.”
“Again, you knew this all before. Surely you were aware that was a possibility. And yet, you couldn’t be bothered to stay.”
“I know.” A sob escaped. Tears made trails on my cheeks. “He believes I’m some light to the Otherworld, and I don’t know if that is true, but he is my light…”
The only one to accept me as I was without expecting more. When I showed him my dark parts, he still believed in me, still loved me.
