The woman, who appeared to be their leader, stepped forward when she saw me and slid her sword back into its scabbard. Good, the weapons were going away. That was a brilliant sign. At least they wouldn’t skewer me without letting me speak first.
“You prevailed,” the fae said, her voice soothing. She sounded almost child-like, but her eyes sparkled with age and wisdom.
“Who are you?” I asked, feeling like a complete loser in my torn and bloodied clothes. I was positive I had half the forest stuck in my hair. Wait, was there border protection here? What if I accidentally contaminated their world? Oh, man…
“They call me Aibell,” she replied. “I am the Seelie Queen.”
The Seelie Queen? I stood in awe, the beauty of her world nothing compared to her presence. Now I knew she was a queen, it explained a lot.
“You must be a Crescent Witch,” she continued. “The one promised. I can feel your Legacy on the air.”
“The one pr—” I shook my head. I was so done with prophecies and omens.
“Carman has been defeated?”
“She has.” It felt good to say it aloud.
I glanced over her shoulder at the ranks of fae—men and women dressed in shimmering gold and silver armor—and understood. Our fear had been for nothing.
“You united the fae,” I murmured.
“While you were fighting for your people, I was fighting for mine,” Aibell said, gesturing to the soldiers behind her. “Two halves of a whole. Light and dark united. A thousand years of toil.” The ranks sheathed their weapons and descended into a half-bow…all in perfect unison. “Night cannot exist without the day.”
I couldn’t believe it. No war had been waiting for us on the other side of the doorways. No death and destruction had come to claim us. Seelie and Unseelie had joined in perfect harmony for the first time in their history. The way had opened and with it came hope for peace. It wouldn’t be easy, but it was a start.
“Carman would have brought destruction on both our worlds,” Aibell explained when I hesitated. “With the power of all the human witches inside her, she would have been untouchable…even with the strength of the united fae behind me. When the portal opened once more, we did not know what would greet us. Carman’s return was prophesized, but prophecies are often confused.”
“So what the Crescents did…”
“Was a difficult choice but the only one that could have saved both our worlds.”
Siobhan’s sacrifice had been the right decision after all. Well, maybe not the right one, but the best of a bad bunch.
“Will you allow me?” Aibell gestured for my hands, and I nodded, dumbstruck by everything about her.
Her skin was smooth and cool to the touch, and when her magic entwined with mine, it was as if the entire world opened up to me. My life flashed before my eyes, unveiling things I’d forgotten and others my mind had hidden from me. The dreams that had turned into nonsense were now clear, the visions I’d seen when I’d first used my magic to heal Boone after our fight with the craglorn—I’d almost died and the woman who’d sent me back…Siobhan! Even the rawness of Aileen’s loss and the revelation that Boone was Carman’s son were exposed. And my greatest shame…taking the Legacy of the Nightshade Witches.
A tear slid from my eye, moistening my cheek.
“I’ve seen your struggle,” she murmured. “Don’t be ashamed.”
“I didn’t want to hurt them…”
“You did what had to be done,” Aibell said, squeezing my hands. “As all leaders must.”
“I’m not a leader. I just…” I hesitated. “I did what had to be done. Oh, man!”
“You, Skye Williams… You did what no one else in your world had the courage to. I have not seen something so selfless since…”
“Siobhan.”
The Seelie Queen nodded, her hair shimmering in the sunlight. “Siobhan.”
“I admit, I’m kind of in awe right now.” I glanced over her shoulder, taking in the world I’d been so afraid of Carman unleashing on my own.
“Humans often fear what they do not understand,” Aibell said. “And often, so do the fae. Courage takes time.”
“What now?” I asked. “I scarcely know what to do…”
“Do you speak for your people, Skye Williams?”
“The witches are divided,” I replied. “But they’ve lived in fear all their lives. Now Carman is gone…I suppose I should let them know.”
“We can’t undo a thousand years of separation, but we can help those who were lost,” the Seelie Queen said.
“You can help the craglorn?”
Aibell nodded. “We can restore their health and hopefully, in time, their minds.”
“Then we leave one doorway open. This one.” I glanced over my shoulder toward the matching hawthorn that would guide me back to Derrydun. “Everyone gets a choice. The lost, the lonely, the sick, and the frail.”
“That sounds like a wonderful idea, Skye Williams.”
“What about Carman?”
Aibell tilted her head to the side.
“I imprisoned her in a painting,” I explained. “She lives, but…”
“You don’t know what to do with her?”
I nodded. “Yes, but I have an idea… I was able to take back the part of my Legacy a craglon took from me. Maybe…”
“You believe you can restore your people’s lost Legacy?”
I nodded. “And strip Carman of hers.”
“If it would please you, after you have completed your task, I shall take custody of the painting. Carman will no longer be your burden. Please allow the fae to guard her prison as a gesture of our gratitude.”
I glanced at her and thought about it. Carman had wrought so much devastation on my world, raised crops and villages, murdered innocent witches, stole countless Legacies, and manipulated so many against one another. And she was a Crescent. That made her my responsibility.
“No,” I finally said. “She was a Crescent Witch. She is our responsibility. No matter what happens, she will be
