Chapter 50

CHAPTER FIFTY

FRANKIE

At first all I saw was vibrant blue light and little golden orbs floating everywhere. I tried to fight against whatever held me, but then I looked up and spotted Thorne's face hovering above mine.

I gasped. THORNE!

I tried to sit up and see where we were, but we were moving too fast. The neon-colored flowers beneath me looked like the ones we'd seen in Seelie by those thrones made of vines. We are in Seelie! My heart pounded as that relief hit hard. I craned my neck around to look for the others and wanted to cry when I saw them. Kessler still had his hand around Thiago's throat, but they were both alive and that was what mattered.

"Out of your damned minds going back in there?—"

"Sage, it was hardly any choice of theirs." Thorne swiftly carried us straight for the gate that led back to Eden. "Look, those of you injured just now, your injuries may not heal as fast as they should once you leave Seelie. You can always return to us to correct that."

And then everything went dark.

NO, NO, NO! I gasped and jumped— and landed on all fours inside Coven Headquarters. I had no idea how we'd gotten here. I hadn't seen us leave Seelie, but I did see Thorne crouched down with his hands stretched out and magic billowing from his palms. I couldn't quite see what was going on. My senses were slow, the room was blurry on the edges and the sound was like I was in a fishbowl or underwater.

I blinked and shook my head, then looked around again. My heart dropped. It was chaos. There were rivers of fresh blood in every direction. The living room was not the infirmary. They had a whole set up downstairs. I'd seen it myself. Yet the living room had turned into a battlefield triage. Chutney was sprawled on the wooden coffee table with blood dripping over the edges onto the carpet. Saffie was hovering above her on little wings made of stars, sprinkling golden pixie dust onto Chutney's wounds.

"She's up!" Mei-Ling shouted, suddenly right in front of me.

Everything went dark again.

"NO!" I screamed and my eyes flew open. I saw the ceiling of Headquarters for a split second before Mei-Ling leaned over me. Something was wrong with me. It didn't make sense. " Why ? —"

"She's up again!" my best friend shouted to someone.

I rolled onto my side and choked on a scream. Tennessee was on the ground in front of the fireplace with his sister in between his legs. He was pinning her down with his arms and legs. She was lying mostly on top of him and convulsing. Tenn had her arms pinned up over her head, but they flopped like a fish out of water. His face was scrunched like holding her down was actually a struggle. He kicked his legs up and hooked them over hers to trap them against the ground while she shook. Blood poured out of her, but there was so much of it, I couldn't tell from where. She kept covering him in ice, but when it touched the golden bands on his arm, it would evaporate. The cycle continued over and over. Jackson held her face in his hands, trying to keep her eyes focused on him while he whispered to her. Timothy was on his knees pouring colorful potions into her eyes and mouth while Thorne did something .

My stomach rolled like I was going to puke—and everything was dark again.

I woke with another gasp, this time on my stomach. There was no vomit beneath me, so that was a good sign. But when I craned my neck back to look up, I found the chairs by the front window thrown aside. Emersyn held Deacon's face in her blood-stained hands. She was yelling at him, warning him not to die on her again. I hated the again part. Deacon was on the ground, the gouges down the front of his body were gaping and—bile shot up my throat. This time I did puke, but there was nothing in my stomach to evacuate, so it was mostly clear liquid.

"FRANKIE!"

My eyes rolled and I felt myself slipping again, but large hands gripped my shoulders and flipped me over. Cooper. It was Cooper. He pulled me into his lap to prop me up. My whole body was numb and tingling. I felt Cooper's chest rumble like he was yelling but I couldn't hear it. Every sound was distant.

"She's up again —why is this happening?" Mei-Ling leaned into my view, her gaze scanning my body. "I don't see anything. "

I knew she was talking about me, but I couldn't focus on myself, not when this carnage was unfolding around me. Bentley was propped up against the wall by the door that led down to the infirmary. There was a smeared streak of blood from a few feet up down to where he was sitting as if he'd crashed into the wall and slid to the ground. Mona was tending to the gory wound on his shoulder.

The door flew open. Katherine, Myrtle, and Lennox sprinted into the living room with trays of vials and stuff. Myrtle went to Chutney. Katherine straddled Bettina's legs and was splashing her. Lennox went over to Deacon. Hunter was in the middle of a couch gripping Royce with one arm and Willow with the other. Royce's throat was dark-purple and blue. Willow's eyes were wide, and the blood still stained the side of her neck from her ears. Both of them were staring at nothing, just shaking their heads. Hunter's golden glow of magic coiled around them.

Savannah sat on the bottom step of the stairs with her black cats clutched to her chest. Her eyes were closed, and her lips moved like she was talking, probably a prayer or chant. I scanned the room until I found Thiago on the dining room table with the young healer Gin from Tampa working on the wound in his throat.

"JUST SNAP IT BACK IN!" Easton bellowed. "DO IT, KESSLER!"

Kessler leaned over and pushed on Easton's arm—Easton roared and then cursed obscenities.

Lily covered her mouth with her hand that was swollen and definitely broken. Actually, her whole arm looked like a marshmallow. I looked to her other hand and found four of her fingers purple.

The lights went out, sending me back to darkness.

"Frankie!" Cooper and Mei-Ling shouted.

I woke with a gasp. I tried to speak but my mouth was dry and not moving.

"THORNE!" Cooper snapped. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER?"

Thorne slid in front of me, his green clothes drenched in blood. His fiery gaze scanned me up and down and back again. He shook his head and held his hands up. His magic slammed into my face, making me cough.

"I don't see any injuries?—"

"This is not physical, Cooper." Thorne tipped my chin up, forcing my eyes to look at his. He narrowed his eyes. "Did you see Everest in the Land of the Lore?"

"No, Everest wasn't there?—"

" You wouldn't have seen him, " Thorne whispered. His narrowed gaze seemed to re-inspect me before returning to my face. "Francelina, tell me right now, did you see Everest in the Land of the Lore? Yes or no."

" Yes, " I whispered, but it was barely visible.

Thorne cursed. "Foolish, risky child," he grumbled and pressed his hands to my temples.

Mei-Ling scowled. "I don't think Everest is a child?—"

"He is to me ," Thorne said, but he was focused on me. "Don't fight the darkness this time. Let it take you. I'm right here?—"

And it took me.

Everything went dark.

Rainbow mist swirled through the dark and then my eyes flew open. Tegan was leaning over me, her hair still snow-white. Her eyes were still that creepy gold and white. The diadem was gone, but I knew she had to give it back to Myrtle.

Thorne leaned over beside Tegan. "Blink twice if you can hear me." His voice sounded like gravel.

I blinked. Twice.

Thorne nodded, then vanished.

"Good. Coop's gonna sit you up again. Tell me if everything is still off." Tegan gestured for her brother. "Slowly."

I braced myself for the room to spin and my stomach to roll, but it didn't happen. The room was clear, unfortunately so. The sight before me was haunting. I must have been out for a little bit because Chutney wasn't on the coffee table. Tennessee was sitting in the same spot, but Bettina was no longer in his lap, though her blood was. He stared at the floor with a pale face, looking traumatized. Timothy was gripping his shoulder, but I wasn't sure which one of them it was supporting. Over by the window, only the tossed-aside chairs and blood stains showed evidence of Deacon being there.

"Where . . . where are they?" I pointed. "Deacon. Chutney. Bettina?—"

"They're downstairs in the infirmary now. They're stable." Tegan pressed her hand to my forehead. "Thorne is down there with them."

" We need Riah ," Savannah whispered, still sitting on the stairs.

The silence clung to the air like a rotten egg.

"Thorne said he called for them, but they'd gone down to see Lucifer?—"

Everyone shuddered.

Tegan sighed. "Sage had to stay by the archway. Grabbing y'all weakened the barrier. She had to make sure no one else came through. Thorne is doing his best right now."

" We are lucky to have him then ," I whispered and pushed up out of Cooper's lap because I needed to feel my body functioning properly. "Where's Bentley and Thiago?"

"Over here," Bentley said with a softer voice than I'd ever heard him use.

Once Tegan leaned to the side, I spotted Bentley and Thiago sitting at the dining room table with bandages wrapped around their injuries. I looked to the couch. Willow, Hunter, and Royce hadn't moved, but they weren't shaking anymore. Easton's arm was in a sling. Lily's right arm was strapped straight down against her body. Four of her fingers on her left hand were in those little braces. Kessler sat in the big chair behind Tenn, his eyes distant and dark, but I didn't see any injuries.

Only Kessler and I had made it out uninjured. At least physically. Mentally and emotionally, I would be forever changed.

I licked my lips. "What happened to me ?"

Tegan rubbed her face with her hands, and I realized they, too, were covered in blood. She shook her head like she didn't know the answer. But then I heard her voice in my mind say, " Everest did something to you in there. Something to block your senses from being taken over by the Unseelie. It was crazy dangerous but likely the reason you are uninjured and quite possibly the reason y'all got out alive. "

I swallowed nervously and nodded.

She pushed to her feet, then walked over to sit on the stone ledge in front of the fireplace, right next to her soulmate. She ran her fingers through his hair. He squeezed his eyes shut and cringed.

"Where's the cipher? Who did I hand it to? Where is it?—"

"Here." Bentley held it up in the air, then stood up and walked over to sit on the coffee table. "We have it. But that's not all we have?—"

Everyone groaned.

"I know, I know. This next part of the prophecy—well, tonight only proved even more that we have to move quickly."

"Especially now that Sweyn found us in there," Easton grumbled. "She was furious."

"What happened in there . . . with Cooper?" Thiago raised his hand in the air. "She was ready to have her bloodsucker army take us out, then like . . . froze."

"She's afraid of the Bishop family."

Everyone looked to me with frowns. Except Tegan, who smirked.

"That night she lured me out here in Eden, she was spooked by the Bishops." I reached up and tapped on Cooper's bicep. "Tonight she stopped when he ran out?—"

"No." Willow shook her head. "She froze when she saw your soulmate marks. She's afraid of the Bishops, but seeing that your soulmate is one? It made her pause. She was trying to decide if she wanted to provoke your terrifying family."

Everyone was just staring at us. I could see their brains working.

Bentley handed the cipher to Tegan. "That's gonna suck to decode."

"I'm just glad we have it. I was looking at that book and the entire thing must be written in Unseelie. No one speaks Unseelie—not even Thorne or Sage . . . or the angels."

Tenn hung his head. "Or the angels aren't allowed to tell us they speak it. Either way, same result."

"Once we decode this, we'll be able to read the book." She slid the cipher into the inside pocket of her leather jacket. "The book is missing a page. I think we can all assume that's the page we need. We must have to decode it first to know our next step?—"

"Actually, not quite." Bentley raised arm with the new prophecy written on it.

Willow cursed. Everyone looked to her with wide eyes because she never cursed. "What? Look how long that one is!"

Tenn nodded. "Babe, read it."

Tegan cleared her throat. " Beyond the arch of magic's lane, Lies a shadow of Coven's bane. Rouse the spirits of their rage, By word of magic, set thy stage. For what you seek is deep and dire, Paint their lawn in dragon's fire. And when they come to slay your trust, Give to them the one she lust. With blood and bone, pain to borrow, A crown upon a seat of sorrow. From the marble within her lair, Retrieve the stolen without flair."

"Avolire." I nodded. I'd suspected it already. "Our magic is restricted by that archway."

"By word of magic, set thy stage." Timothy looked to Tegan. "Time for your tricks?"

"Time for mine. " Willow rubbed her hands together, but her face was a mask of rage. "It says paint their lawn . If I've learned anything from Tegan, it's that word choice is everything. Valathame isn't saying to bring the dragons, she's telling me to make the vampires think we did."

Tegan smiled.

"Which means you'll need my fire." Emersyn looked at her hands. "Maybe Tegan can fly me around so I can shoot fire from Willow's dragons?"

Tegan grinned. "Keep going, y'all."

Kessler pursed his lips. " And when they come to slay your trust, Give to them the one she lust. We think she wants Frankie—if her actions prove anything. So, we need Willow and Tegan to make Sweyn think Frankie is ripe for the taking."

"Hey, Cooper, how'd you like to be bait this time?" I looked up to my soulmate and arched one eyebrow.

Tegan chuckled. "I am so proud of y'all."

Cooper frowned. "Bait? What do you mean? Why—oh, because she's afraid of the Bishops and I'm your soulmate."

I nodded. "If we can distract her with you and the dragons, then I can get inside to her throne. Because that's where this leads us. A seat of sorrow within a lair of marble. "

Tegan jumped to her feet, her eyes sparkling mischievously. "Let's go. Now. She won't expect us to attack after the Land of the Lore, so it's our best opportunity. We have to go now."

Tenn leapt to his feet. "She's right. The injured are in as good of hands as possible. We can't let their sacrifice be in vain. That being said, Em and Lancaster, we'll understand if you need to stay?—"

"No." Jackson turned away from the front window he'd been staring out. "How many times have you or Tegan been near death and down and the other has had to fight? My soulmate might be my whole world, but my job in this Coven means I have to save the actual world. So, we're with you."

Emersyn nodded. "Just tell us what you want us to do."

Tenn's eyes glistened as he turned to Tegan. "What's your plan, babe? We all know you have one."

Her lips curved up in a crooked smile. It was almost in slow motion, like I was watching the Grinch about to steal Christmas. She snapped her fingers, and all of our clothing turned as white as the snow that'd be on Avolire's front lawn. "Now we'll blend."

Tim shook his head and chuckled. "Is that your whole plan, Trouble?"

Hunter raised his hand. "Do we get to know your whole plan?"

Tegan shrugged. "I'm gonna portal us to just outside that arch so we can use our magic freely. The second we hit that snow, it's game on. We need to lure them out as fast as possible. We're the distraction, the decoys. The second Frankie gets her shot, she's going in. Cooper, Lily, and Bentley, you're going with her."

All three of them nodded.

"I want Willow to stay by my side so we can work together. We'll remain outside the arch as long as possible. Emersyn, stay by me until her illusions are going so Sweyn won't figure it out. Also, Thiago, your magic may be of good service to us, so you'll hang back with us too." Tegan waited until those three nodded, then she continued, "Now, because Frankie is who she wants, I'm going to make the real Frankie invisible, then have Willow send an illusion-Frankie out into the lawn. This won't fool her for long, so . . . Frankie, be ready to move."

I nodded. "The second they go for the illusion, I'll slide inside, especially if I'm invisible. I'll be at the door and ready to go."

"Perfect. I assume you remember your way around?"

"It haunts my waking thoughts, yes." I smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

"As soon as we get there, I'm going to attack the castle. The rest of you . . . fight. Easton, wait until they come for us, then cover everyone with armor." She turned and pressed her hand to Tenn's chest. "I need you to be doing what you do so arrogantly that they'll be unable to resist the urge to go for you."

He smirked. "Arrogant bait. Got it."

"Be my eyes out there. I care more about all of us coming home than how many fangers we take out. They are fast. " Tegan turned to Cooper. "You. I'm going to have you walk out with the illusion-Frankie, but as soon as the real Frankie makes her run?—"

"I'm ready." He cracked his knuckles and bounced on the balls of his feet. "Let's get in there before all of our vengeful rage subsides."

Tegan marched to the front door, and we all hurried after her with Tenn at the back. There was no joking, no laughter. We were all tense and pissed. Marching into Avolire with the intention of ambushing them was brazen and potentially suicidal.

None of us were hesitating.

Death had no room in here.

Tegan threw the front door open, and we all leapt into that white box. My sneakers sank in the snow. The air was bitterly ice-cold and stung my bare skin. I looked down and realized I'd taken my sweater off to be a tourniquet, so I was only in my sports bra. I'd never been more thankful for high-rise jeans. We'd portaled into the forest just beyond the border of Avolire, which made sense. They wouldn't have seen us arrive this way. But that arch was just up ahead in perfect sight.

Heat washed over my back.

We all jumped and spun around—my jaw dropped. A massive dragon was crouched in the shadow of the trees. The white snow landing on him had already camouflaged his light- gray scales. Despite his size, he was only visible by the glow of his yellow eyes.

" Hey Silas, thanks for coming, " Tegan said into our minds. " Chutney is injured, but I trust you'll be okay without her? "

He puffed little smoke balls out of his nose.

" I don't want you to fight. You are backup. You are the escape plan if something happens to me. " She pointed her finger at him. " Get them out of here if I can't. "

Silas closed his eyes, then opened them. It looked like a nod, so we all nodded back.

Then we turned to face the white castle standing like a glacier in the blizzard of the arctic circle. Everyone pulled out their weapons and rolled to the balls of their feet. We were waiting for Tegan's signal.

Willow wiggled her fingers and I saw myself with Cooper at the front of the group. A chill ran down my spine. Tenn tapped on those gold bands and summoned Michael's sword to his hands, the glow radiating light like the actual sun.

Tegan held up her fingers and counted down from three . . . two . . . one . . .

We charged.

Tegan flew up ahead of us and launched flaming orange balls of fire right into the castle's exterior wall. Smoke and flame shot up into the dark sky. The castle rocked under her attacks. Willow threw one hand up and a dozen dragons circled the air above the castle.

I wanted to sit and watch the magic these incredible witches were about to display, but I had a job to do. They were risking themselves as my distraction, so I needed to be ready to run for the throne. She'd only made me invisible so that if a vampire spotted us inside, they wouldn't see me, they'd see the others. When we passed under the arch, I wanted to vomit. We'd gone to such lengths to get me out of this place, and now I was voluntarily running back in.

Tegan and Emersyn launched fire-bombs into the castle walls from every angle. Lightning struck the towers and windows exploded. Golden light spilled onto the snow.

Sweyn screamed from somewhere inside her icy castle.

Tennessee stood in the middle of their front lawn with Michael's sword out. Hunter, Kessler, and Emersyn stood right behind him with Timothy and Jackson a few feet away. Easton, Royce, and Savannah were close to the arch.

Then there was me and Cooper. We stood just a few feet from the front door, which was only a couple feet away from us.

Vampires rushed out in their white trench coats with their long swords drawn. They moved in a blur, leaving only a flurry of snow in their wake to know where they were. Just as they made it to Tenn, he threw wind into the front line and sent them flying into the air where a purple dragon drenched their bodies in flames.

Sweyn leapt out of the shattered windows of her ballroom with Everest, Saber, and Sam hot on her heels. They ran out in a dead sprint, blending in with the snow. Our friends were surrounded by vampires in the blink of an eye. Willow had dragons dive-bombing and raining fire on them—which was sent by Emersyn who was flying around with them. The ground rocked and the castle rumbled. I couldn't watch the fight. I had to watch my target. Hunter glanced to us subtly, then spun and shot golden magic.

Sweyn shrieked and her face turned red. She pointed at my illusion. "YOU!" Then she charged for me.

I cursed. We were too close to the door and the illusion. If Sweyn got to it, she'd know it was a fake and we'd be screwed. I realized this part of the plan may have been faulty. But then Tenn swooped and scooped Sweyn right off the snow. They struggled in the air as she tried to snap his wings off.

"EVEREST!"

Everest lunged like a snow leopard on the hunt. He leapt over the other lines of the Sentinels and raced right for me. My heart skipped. I froze in place. He pulled a silver sword the length of his arm out of nowhere. My eyes widened. The look on his face was lethal. Stone-cold predator. This was the moment, the chance to sneak inside while everyone was focused on Everest, but I couldn't move. I'd never seen that look on his face. It shook me to my core.

"KILL!" Sweyn screamed.

Everest landed right in front of my illusion and Cooper. He pulled his arm back, then swung his sword— right through Cooper's neck, severing his head from his body.

"NOOOO!" My Coven-mates screamed as Cooper's head hit the snow.

I couldn't move. I couldn't scream. I was frozen. There was nothing to do. There was no saving him. Our plan had gone horribly, horribly wrong. My chest was burning.

Sweyn threw her head back and cackled. She clapped her hands and danced.

The Sentinels pounced on my Coven-mates, taking advantage of their distraction. But they couldn't fight. They were frozen in horror as Cooper's body crashed to the snow.

But then sparkling light-blue magic slammed into the faces of the vampires nearest my Coven-mates. Everyone it touched dropped to the ground, instantly sound asleep. Rainbow mist shot across the lawn at the exact same time and crashed into something invisible a few feet in front of me. The magic faded in the blink of an eye.

Cooper stood there twenty feet behind his severed head with his magic coiled in his palm. He fired his magic into another dozen vampires. "Try again, bloodsucker."

I gasped so hard I staggered backwards.

It was fake. That was FAKE. That Cooper next to the illusion of me had also been an illusion. Cooper was alive and well right in front of me and putting vampires to sleep while our enemy gawked.

Savannah dropped to her knees and puked.

"No." Sweyn's eyes were wider than a full moon. Her face was pale, and those red eyes were seething. "NO!"

Tegan appeared at the edge of the snowy lawn, her white hair flapping in the breeze. Her gold and white eyes sparkled. She let out a deep laugh and held her arms out to the side. "Taste my rainbow, bitch."

"YOU!"

"Yeah, ME." She waved her arms. "Come and get me."

Sweyn, Everest, and all the vampires charged for her.

Cooper, the real Cooper, spun and raced over to me. He grabbed my arm and dragged me to the front door. Bentley and Lily were hot on our heels. "This is our chance! Let's get this page and get the hell out before I lose my head for real."