I looked at where Kadon had just been, my mouth wide open. I shook my head. I still had work to do. The veil needed to be remade. Otherwise, the world as we knew it would end. I clambered to my knees as it was all I could manage. I put my hand over my stomach wound and winced. There was a lot of blood, but I had to finish. Grasping both crystals, I channelled all my energy into them. I could feel the magic draining from my body. I hoped I had enough power left. I focused on what I wanted to create and released a massive pulse of magical energy. The magic latched on to the disappearing veil and put it back together. I sighed with a weak smile on my face. I had done it. Both worlds were now safe from the darkness.
All of a sudden, my body went limp, and I fell face-first to the ground. I could feel myself bleeding, and my legs were numb. Footsteps came closer to me. I tried to get up, but I couldn’t move. Someone grabbed hold of me and turned me over. It was Victoria. She looked panicked, and her eyes were full of tears. She was shouting at Harkura to do something. Harkura pulled off his jacket and pressed it against my stomach. I could feel myself getting weaker. I just wanted to go to sleep.
Victoria yelled at me not to close my eyes. She cried for me to keep looking at her and to focus on her voice. I tried to talk, but I couldn’t. My body was cold. I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. Victoria and Harkura were calling to me, but their voices were starting to fade. It was ironic that I was going to die the same way Queen Freya had, stopping Kadon and then creating the veil. They say your life flashes before your eyes when you die, but all I could think about was how Greg wasn’t going to be happy with me for breaking my promise, and my dad. He didn’t even know I had left the house. I had promised I would come back, but I wasn’t going to make it. I lay on the grass, numb.
A warm feeling came over my stomach and spread over my body. A sharp pain shot through me, and I gasped for air, opening my eyes.
“She’s breathing. Oh my God. You did it,” Victoria said.
She was talking to Greg as he healed me. I didn’t understand how he had gotten here. Why was he always turning up just when I needed him to? I rested my head on Greg’s knee and shut my eyes again. I knew I was safe with him there, and so was the rest of the world.
Mellissa
The castle is shaking. I wrap my little girl up in a blanket and hand her to Ivan. “Take her to safety.”
He holds her to his chest. “What about you? I am your guardian. I shouldn’t leave you.”
“She is what is important now. If something happens to me, I need to know she is safe. I know you will protect her.”
“I would give my life for her.”
I stroke his cheek. “I know.” There’s a loud boom, and the castle shakes again. “Take care of our daughter. She will be the world’s new beginning.”
I press my lips to Ivan’s. I don’t want to let them go, but I must. “Go,” I say.
He nods, pulls up his hood and runs out the back with our baby. Marissa will be safe with her father while I stand and fight, putting an end to Kadon once and for all.
“Oh my God,” I yelled, sitting up.
I winced as pain shot through my body and fell back on my bed. My head was pounding. My body ached all over, and I was covered in bandages. I looked around my room. Someone had tidied it. The sun was shining in through my bedroom window. How had I gotten there? The last thing I remembered was Kadon. My heart leapt. Kadon was defeated, and I had somehow managed to survive the battle. I stood up and grimaced, sitting straight back down on my bed. Maybe standing wasn’t the best idea at the moment. I picked up the Heart Crystal from my bedside table. If I turned it back to staff form, I could use it as a walking stick. My chest tightened. Where was the Moon Crystal? I had it in my other hand when I collapsed. Why wasn’t it here? I patted my bed down in search of it.
“What on earth are you doing?” asked Victoria.
I looked up to see her standing in the doorway. “I was just—”
“Get back in bed right now,” she snapped, marching over to me. “I’m glad you are finally awake, but you are such an idiot. I was so worried. You’re reckless.”
She made me lie back down and tucked me into bed. I felt like a child being told off by their mother. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you, but what do you mean ‘finally?’ Have I missed a whole day again?”
“Something like that,” she said, “except it was more like two days.”
“What?” I exclaimed. Missing one day was bad enough. I must’ve been hurt pretty badly. Two days had already passed, and I still felt like I had been hit by a truck.
“You really had everyone worried.”
“I really am sorry. Trust me, it wasn’t part of my plan to get injured like that. It’s good to see you’re all right. What about Harkura? And how did I get back home?” I asked. I couldn’t remember much after the battle. My memory of the events was in fragments, and they were all jumbled up.
“The fire nymph is fine. He is camping out in that silly little tent of his in your back garden. The weirdo refuses to sleep in the house. We got back here because of Greg. He appeared out of nowhere and pretty much saved the day. Well, I guess I can finally go home now that I know you’re not dead. I will let the others know you’re awake.”
“You mean you haven’t been home?” I asked.
“Of course not. What sort of guardian would I be if I left while you were still unconscious? Oh, and I hope you don’t mind, but I tidied your room and reorganised your wardrobe.”
She smiled at me as she swayed out of my room. She was gone just as quickly as she had appeared. I was touched by how concerned she’d been about me. She had stayed here until she knew I was all right. Our relationship had changed drastically. She was still harsh and insulted me nonstop, but I had come to realise that was just how she showed affection.
Victoria had been gone only a couple of minutes when there a knock on my door. In walked Greg. I sat up. I hadn’t realised he’d actually come back with us. He said my wounds needed checking. I jokingly complained about his healing abilities not being up to scratch and that I shouldn’t need so many bandages. He didn’t find this funny. He then went on to tell me how reckless I was and how I had worried everyone. He sat at the end of my bed with his grumpy face on. I found myself apologising again.
“I really didn’t mean to make anyone worry about me,” I said.
“Mellissa, you almost died. This isn’t a joke. I told you not to go on your own. If I hadn’t been there to heal you, you wouldn’t be here right now,” Greg said, frustration in his tone. He obviously didn’t think I was taking what happened seriously.
“I know, but I defeated Kadon, didn’t I? Maybe I should’ve brought more back up, or at the very least, had you with me from the start, but there wasn’t time. Is my life really more important than the rest of the world?”
“It’s important to me!”
“And I said I’m sorry, but I can’t change what happened. I understand that you’re annoyed with me. If it was the other way around, I would be furious with you. I would have never let you leave without me.”
“I don’t have the luxury of being able to sense your location and teleport to follow you.”
“Well, I—I don’t have a comeback.” I put my hand on my head. My skin was really warm.
Greg leant forward and also put his hand on my head. I think he was checking my temperature. He slouched back and sighed. “You have a fever. I can get you something for that.”
He got up to leave, but I grabbed his hand. “Wait. Did you know that Ivan, Freya’s guardian, was the father of her daughter?”
He sat back down. “What? All the books state she had a daughter but never mention the father. Freya never married. How do you know this?”
“Another dream. Also, Freya and Kadon dated as teenagers.”
“That’s why he hated you so much. Not just because Freya defeated him, but because you are the result of her falling for another man.”
“So, what?
He started a war because he got dumped?”
Greg shook his head. “It probably didn’t help, but Kadon was still an egotistical, entitled racist.” He rubbed his nose as he tried not to smile. “You know, this means the Streets are distant relatives of yours.”
“They are?”
Greg nodded. “Mrs. Street told me their ancestry goes back to Ivan’s sister, Isabelle.”
“Huh, so Matt and Victoria are like distant cousins of mine?”
Greg wagged his finger in my face. “Don’t think this interesting revelation gets you off the hook for being reckless.”
I groaned. He saw right through me. I’d hoped it would work as a distraction, and he would forget he was mad at me. Although, a part of me had just missed talking to him about this sort of stuff. “Fine, this is your chance to have a go at me. Just get it all out so we can move on.”
“I don’t want to have a go at you. I just wish your plan hadn’t involved almost dying.”
“You do realise that most of the time I don’t actually know what I am doing. I will admit, I was lucky you turned up when you did. How exactly did you get there, anyway?”
He shuffled farther onto the bed and sat beside me. “After you left against my advice, the rest of us followed the plan I suggested. Den and I led the fast-flying fairies and all the changelings with strong bird transformations to the ruins of Freya’s castle. We found the leprechaun army there but were surprised to find you and Kadon were not. Battle commenced, and we started capturing leprechauns. It’s amazing what brilliant warriors the Fay are. When they grow to their full size, their strength rivals that of the leprechauns. Then, the veil suddenly came down, and there you were, fighting with Kadon on the other side. We witnessed everything from that point. Once I saw you go down, I knew I had to help you. I managed to cross before you resealed the veil.”
I took his hand. “Thanks for saving me.”
“It was the least I could do. You sort of saved the world first.”
My heart was pounding, and my hands were clammy. I stared at his lips, remembering what it was like to kiss him. He leant forward. I quickly turned away. “What’s going to happen to the leprechauns now that Kadon’s gone? And what about the Moon Crystal? Where is it?”
“Safely locked away in a council vault,” Greg replied. “There is going to be a council meeting to decide on what to do with both the Moon Crystal and the leprechauns.”
“Shouldn’t we just give the Moon Crystal back to the mermaids?”
“Hey, don’t steal my ideas. That is what I was going to suggest. Also, the correct term is merfolk or merpeople, and the mermen don’t like being referred to as mermaids.”
I laughed. “Sorry for my mistake. Merfolk it is.”
“I think you should be the one to hand it over. After all, you are the one that retrieved it.”
“It would be totally wicked to meet a mermaid—I mean, merperson. You know what I mean.”
Greg stood up. “Well, you should get plenty of rest. The meeting is tomorrow morning, and you are a senior member after all.”
Greg left me to rest. If I was attending a meeting with the council, I would need all my strength to deal with them. I didn’t understand why or how I was suddenly a senior member of the council. It wasn’t really a job I wanted. Being around the council still made me uneasy.
In the morning, Greg came in to change my bandages and get me up for the council meeting. “Why is this meeting so early in the morning?” I asked.
“Stop being lazy. Council meetings are all a part of being queen.”
“I’m technically not queen of anything. I haven’t officially accepted the role, and no formal ceremony has taken place.”
He raised his eyebrow. “Those are all just technicalities.” He left me to get dressed by myself.
I still couldn’t get my head around the idea of me becoming a queen. It just seemed so unreal. I had gone from an ordinary girl to a queen almost overnight. I also didn’t understand why my attendance at this meeting was so important. Surely there were older, more knowledgeable members on the council than me. Wouldn’t their views on the current situation be more valid? However, I did want to know what decisions would be made. I also wanted to make sure the Moon Crystal ended up in the right hands. Maybe being on the council wasn’t all bad.
I got myself washed and dressed, then went to find Greg. He was, of course, ready and waiting on me to leave. Harkura was also waiting with him. I asked if Victoria was coming. Harkura told me that she’d entrusted him with protecting me while she was at school. That’s when I remembered it was a school day. I had lost track of the days after everything that had happened with Kadon. I wasn’t sure how many days of school I’d missed. I was not looking forward to playing catch-up when I went back.
I couldn’t worry about that now though. I had a council meeting to attend. I took hold of both their hands and teleported to the council building. It was amazing how quickly they’d rebuilt the place. Having magic on your side made jobs like this relatively simple. There were three new council members, I assumed to replace the ones that had been lost during the battle. Harkura was made to wait outside in the hall during the meeting.
The meeting went on for hours. We made a decision on what to do with the Moon Crystal pretty quickly. It was agreed that I would hand it over to the current king of the merfolk. However, it was not so easy to decide what to do with the leprechauns. Many ideas were put forward, but no one could agree.
There was a suggestion to use the leprechauns as slaves, but that idea wasn’t as bad as the councilman who wanted to kill all the leprechauns that had been captured. I knew the leprechauns had done bad things, but how could they talk about killing them so casually? They had attempted to kill me on more than one occasion, but I still didn’t think genocide was a good idea. How would killing all of them or using them for slave labour be any different than what Kadon had planned for the humans? The problem was that the leprechauns hadn’t had a proper leader for thousands of years. They were the only magical species living on the land that didn’t have a representative on the council. When Kadon came back, they were ripe for the picking.
I suggested we help the leprechauns recreate their villages and help them form their own hierarchy of power, then give their elected leader a place on the council. They would have to live by the rules of the land, like everyone else, and those that didn’t want to live in peace would stay imprisoned. My idea was rejected by many, mainly the ones who wanted to kill all the leprechauns. They were hungry for blood. The leprechauns had caused a lot of damage, and many lives had been lost.
“How does killing or enslaving all the remaining leprechauns make us any better than Kadon? What you are suggesting sounds just like the plans Kadon had,” I argued.
“Says the girl that killed Kadon herself. How is you killing Kadon any different than what we want to do?” asked Sir Lee, one of the new senior council members.
“It is very different. Kadon died during battle. In addition, I had planned on capturing him, not killing him. I didn’t know that separating him and the Moon Crystal would kill him. What you are suggesting is killing people while caged.”
“They are not people; they are monsters. They murdered my father in cold blood. From my understanding, you were there.”
My heart sank, and I felt sick as I remembered what happened that night. Kadon had killed three senior council members right in front of my face, and I had been powerless to stop him.
“My father died that day as well, Lee,” said Greg, “but we can’t let our decision today be based on our emotions. It was Kadon that killed the senior members of the council, not the leprechauns we have captured. They should be tried for their crimes by the rules of this land like anyone else. The leprechauns have been shunned for years. They have been treated like lesser beings. When Kadon came along and offered them revenge on the queen and the council, they jumped at it. We have to learn from our mistakes. If we go around killing them, it will
just leave room for another crazy leader to move in and lead them astray.”
“I agree with Gregory and Queen Mellissa.” Lady Gabrielle stood up. She had been silent for a while, and everyone turned to look at her. “The leprechauns should be tried for their crimes and sentenced appropriately. We should then aid them in growing their society and educate them. If we give them some freedom to rule themselves, as well as a chance to be represented here on the council, they won’t feel so separated from our society. Then, maybe they won’t be so easily led down the dark path by a deranged dictator.”
Once Lady Gabrielle spoke up, many council members started to come around. She had a lot of sway on the council. Not everyone was happy with the decision, but by the end of the meeting, we had the majority vote to put the leprechauns on trial. Once they’d paid for their crimes, they would be assisted in rebuilding their society. I was relieved when the meeting was over. We had been in that room for hours, and I was happy to stretch my legs.
Before heading home, I went out to the courtyard to visit the Tree of Time. I walked up to it and placed my hand on the tree trunk. It looked the same as when I’d last seen it. I could sense the great amount of magic coming from it. I activated the Heart Crystal. My powers had grown so much in the last couple of weeks. Maybe I could free Matt. I looked at the crystal glowing round my neck and asked for its assistance. I didn’t get the response I had hoped for. The seal was created by the Heart Crystal and the tree. I couldn’t break the spell. I sighed with a heavy heart and leant against the tree. I had managed to defeat Kadon—the most powerful leprechaun in history—and save the world, but I couldn’t set my best friend free.
“I am so sorry, Matt. I promise you, I will figure something out. I will not leave you stuck in this tree.” He might’ve been trapped in the tree, but I believed he could hear me. So, I sat and spoke to Matt, filling him in on everything that had happened. Even though I didn’t get a reply, it was nice to talk to him. It helped me believe he wasn’t completely lost. He was still alive, and there was still hope to free him.
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