Chapter 43
Savannah’s POV
Just as she wanted to say something else, my phone rang. I wasn't surprised when I saw Dalia's name on the screen.
“Hello again, Princess Rose! I'm sure you felt the shift in power a few minutes ago. That was me and I know you realized how powerful I am now. Is your answer still no?”
“Ms. Russeau, I have no idea what you just did, but that doesn't mean I changed my mind. My answer is still no. You're just wasting your time. Give up, because my answer will be no everytime.”
“We'll see about that. You know, in a few hours you might get a letter full of desperate pleading. For your information, you'll be the cause of that desperation. I give you twelve hours. If you care about others than yourself you'll come and see me in person in Salem.”
“What is her plan now, little cousin?”
“That's the problem, I have no idea. She said something about a letter and desperate pleading. I don't like this. She said after that I have twelve hours to join her in Salem.”
“She'll attack one of the races. I bet it'll be the faeries, they're the weakest.”
“Then we have to send some reinforcements, grandma.”
“We can't because it might just be a diversion. As soon as we get the letter we'll be ready to move. Until then nobody leaves or does anything.”
I felt powerless and hopeless. I had two options; join Dalia to save everyone else or refuse and let her destroy the races one by one. Grandma made it seem like it was an easy choice, but for me it wasn’t. Nobody left and even my dad appeared at one point. Lately I barely saw him. Then an envelope suddenly appeared in the middle of the living room.
*“Queen Seraphina!
*We’ve been attacked and we need your help. This woman said she’ll give us half a day. She already destroyed half of our realm. We can’t win alone. Please, send reinforcements, I’m begging you!
*Queen Antonia”
“What's your plan now?”
“It’s a suicide mission, so I won’t send more than ten people. We can’t lose that many capable people in the first round.”
“I don’t like this. I think we should retaliate while we can.”
“We won’t be the ones who start this war Savannah. We cannot be the bad guys in this situation.”
“Why do you still care about your reputation that much in a situation like this?”
“Because we need allies. I’m sending a troop, so no one will say I didn’t do anything. We will lose the fairies, but the strongest of the supernatural world will still be on our side. We need to see the bigger picture.”
“What if I say I have a plan?”
“As long as you want to conduct it from here I’ll listen.”
“I need to leave. I can mask myself, so she won’t know my real identity. I can make her fall without her realizing until it’s too late.”
“I won’t let you leave.”
“I’m so glad it’s not up to you then. I’m leaving. Alone. Everybody else stays here. I was the one who didn’t kill her when I had the chance. I have to be the one to correct this mistake.”
“Savannah Rose! Do not dare leave the realm!”
“I’m sorry, grandma. This will be my sacrifice. I don’t know the consequences, but I’m willing to take my chance. I think Iris knew who I’ll be all along. I just realized the meaning of being strong enough to cross the veil. She wasn’t referring to crossing it to come here. She referred to leaving the realm. I love all of you. Until we meet again.”
With that I put up a barrier around me. My cousins and Gabriel tried to shatter it, but I was stronger than them. I put on my mask to conceal my identity, then I pushed against my grandma’s magic with all my might. I couldn’t open a portal, so I had to cross the old fashioned way. I opened a portal to the edge of the realm, where the veil was originally positioned. With some concentration I touched it and pulled it in different directions, trying to create a tear in it. My whole body was on fire and aching. Fighting against two forces wasn’t easy. The more I pulled the veil, the bigger the tear in it became until there was a hole big enough for me to fit through. My family reached me just as I jumped and looked back at them, seeing their horrified faces. The pain in my body increased and I couldn’t help, but scream. Then the pain stopped. I broke the seal, but I wasn’t in Salem. I was inside the veil which wasn’t possible. At least that was what everyone told me.
There were a number of things trapped inside the veil for all eternity. Numerous books and parchments along with different artifacts. Then a book was racing towards me and I couldn’t do anything as it barreled into me and everything else followed its course until there was nothing else inside the veil, but me. When things calmed down I felt it. I knew spells I haven’t heard of before. I knew information and secrets I probably wasn’t supposed to know. I felt the magic of the artifacts deep inside me. I became one with everything that was trapped here. After I came back to reality, I knew I needed to leave.
“Savannah Rose! I am the Spirit of Sacrifice. Before you leave the veil I have to ask you. Are you willing to sacrifice anything for your powers?”
“I am. What is the sacrifice?”
“I cannot say that. That is part of the sacrifice, doing it blindly. If you are sure, step through the veil. If not, you can still turn back, but if you do so, you will not get a second chance to obtain your powers.”
“I won’t turn back, Spirit. I’ve come this far and I have a world to save.”
“Very well! I wish you good luck, Savannah Rose!”
This was it. I took one more step and I reached the other end of the veil. As I was crossing it, a rippling pain shot through my skull. I felt something being ripped away from me. The last thing I saw was Dalia’s face and then everything went black. I lost my consciousness.
Gabriel’s POV
We watched in horror as Savannah disappeared through the veil.
“Go after her and bring her back, Gabriel. If you can't find her on the other side, come back immediately. That’s an order.”
“Of course, my Queen.”
I couldn’t defy her orders even if I wanted to. When I arrived in Salem, Savannah was nowhere to be found. I waited for a few more minutes, but the Queen’s magic started to push me back.
“She wasn’t there. I waited until I could.”
“It’s not your fault. I still can’t believe she broke the seal. I’ll call King Zamyr and Martha Russeau. She might’ve gone there first.”
After the Queen and Prince Raphael left I was left alone with the five Princes.
“What are we supposed to do now?”
“I don’t know, Gabriel. I’m worried about her, but if we expose ourselves that’d be worse. She cannot be recognized, so she’s safe for now. Let’s focus on helping her from here.”
“I can’t help, but feel that something will go wrong. What if breaking the seal caused some permanent damage?”
“Gabriel, she was fine when she stepped through the veil. If nothing happened then she’s okay now.”
It seemed like the Princes weren’t too troubled with Savannah leaving. I couldn’t shake the bad feeling. I followed the Princes to the castle.
“She’s not in either of the realms. Neither Martha nor Zamyr have heard from her since their last phone call.”
“How did they react, grandma?”
“Martha’s reaction wasn’t too severe, but Zamyr flipped and wanted to organize a search party. For now I convinced him to stay put. This idyllic state won’t last for too long. We need to find out where she went.”
“What about her best friend, my Queen? Maybe she visited her.”
“She’s not there either. I called her too.”
“So then, where is she?”
“I wish I knew, Gabriel. Something must’ve happened when she stepped through the veil. We have to figure out what went wrong. You left right after her and she wasn’t there. You should’ve seen her even if it was in the distance.”
“She wasn’t there.”
“I’m not saying I don’t believe you, Gabriel. Anyway, go home and get some rest. We can’t do anything until we know for sure where she went. I know it’s hard for you too, but we have to trust her.”
After saying goodbye I walked home. The house was too empty and quiet. I got used to the constant noise Savannah made when she was in the house and now I was alone. Again. Rest and sleep was far away, but my body and mind needed it to stay sharp. I had to accept that she was gone. At least for a while. I refused to believe that I wouldn’t see her again. I loved her even though she wasn’t feeling the same about me. Not yet. I was staring into space while sitting on my couch and eventually I fell asleep.
“Any news, my Queen?” - I asked the next morning.
“Nothing. Nobody's seen her. I even called one of the witches in Salem, but she couldn’t help either. They saw Dalia, but she was alone. They said it was strange, because she left them alone.”
“Why would it be strange?”
“Because she wants revenge. That would’ve been the perfect opportunity to destroy the witches.”
“Unless something came up.”
“What do you mean Cael?”
“Just think about it, grandma. She said she won’t attract without the seer on her side. The witches are strong. Savannah might be there with her, but she might still have the upper hand in the situation.”
“You might be right. That was her plan. Let’s hope it’ll play out exactly like that.”