Misty
I wait in the hallway for Luke, not believing he’s actually here, in Moonrise, in the same place I currently am. Eventually, he’s escorted around a corner by two of Ella’s royal guards. His eyes go wide when he sees me, his cheeks flushing. “Misty–”
“Luke,” I whisper, trying to smile at him, but my heart is skittering out of my chest. He glances at the guards before taking several swift steps ahead of them to reach my side. I pull him across the hallway to a set of windows and benches overlooking the city of Moonrise, now bathed in afternoon light.
“You got out,” he says in disbelief. “I heard that you had, but I didn’t believe it–”
“Is Georgia safe?”
“Yes, she’s with her family. Her father’s fighting, but she and her mother went to Crescent Falls–”
“What did Cole have you working on in the castle?” I rush out. “I was supposed to help you with it but never got the chance.”
He pulls a small, oval object out of his jacket pocket and hands it to me. “It’s a cryptex. He said it was found with the Book of Whispers. I’m not sure how he got his hands on it. He never gave me the details, but he wanted me to open it. I think it’s from the time of the Rosetta people–”
“It’s not.” I stare down at the symbols. I’d been studying the Rosetta people when all of this started. “This is Firestone.”
“What? It can’t be. The symbols.”
“It’s–it’s their early language.” My feet are moving before my mind has a chance to catch up. I leave Luke behind, gaping, as I break into a sprint, tearing through the castle as fast as my feet can carry me. I leap down a staircase, nearly missing the landing entirely and crashing into the wall, but adrenaline carries me forward as I rush toward Ryan and Aviva’s suite.
The door is locked. I slam my fist against it over, and over. “AVIVA! Open the–”
The door swings open revealing a frazzled Aviva dressed in a silky robe, her hair pulled back in a very messy bun on the top of her head. Her face is silver with tear stains and her eyes are dark and furious. “What,” she breathes, “do you want?”
I ignore her tone and push past her into the snug foyer of the suite. I jerk to a stop when I see Grandma Isla sitting in one of the armchairs, her dainty legs crossed as she balances a cup of tea on her knee.
“Grandma!” I shout, swallowing back my shock.
“Hi, sweetheart. I heard you were back.” Something about her smile and the almost mischievous look in her eyes confuses me, but I don’t have a second to waste. I whirl to Aviva, who stalks past me and slowly settles back into the chair she claimed for this–this evening tea party.
“Dinner’s soon,” Grandma says, tilting her head toward Aviva.
Aviva shakes her head, going a little green at the mention of food.
“We need to talk,” I gasp. “Right now. Aviva, you can read Firestone, right?”
Aviva nods, but she looks like she’s on the verge of throwing up. She sips her tea, grimaces, and locks her eyes on mine. “Why?”
“Tell me these symbols are Firestone.” I thrust the cryptex into her arms. She almost spills her tea, throwing me a dirty look. I fire one right back. “Look, I know you’re pissed at Ryan right now, but I need your help.”
She looks down at the object and sighs, but her eyes undergo a great change. “Where did you get this?”
“Cole–Cole gave it to Luke. He said it was found with the Book of Whispers.”
Aviva stares at me, hard. “Who has the Book of Whispers?”
“It’s a long story,” I tell her, swallowing hard against the lump forming in my throat. “I don’t have time to explain, but Cole wanted to open this. He thought this could help him–help his people, someway. Please–please tell me you know what those symbols mean and how to open it.”
Aviva holds my gaze, her eyes softening and her face going slack in resignation. She swipes her thumb across the strange stone buttons. Grandma Isla leans in as Aviva starts pressing the buttons, which unlocks new buttons with new symbols.
“What are you doing?” I ask, sudden worry spinning through my brain. “Aviva?”
“It’s just math,” she murmurs under her breath. “These are numbers, not words or letters. It’s a numerical puzzle.”
I glance at Grandma, who gives me a, “I have no idea what's going on,” shrug.
A sharp crunch echoes through the room when Aviva pushes one last button, and the cryptex cracks open, the stone crumbling in the palm of Aviva’s hand.
Grandma’s gasp cuts through my own shout of surprise, and then my… utter disappointment.
“A moonstone?” My words wobble. “That’s it?”
“It’s not a moonstone,” Grandma says with marked surprise. She plucks the stone from Aviva’s hand and stares at it in sheer disbelief.
“What is it, Isla?” Aviva asks softly.
“It’s a Diamond of Faith,” she whispers, her eyes glowing with sudden… power.
I feel a tug toward the diamond as well, like it’s calling to me, my powers answering.
Grandma shakes her head, rising to her feet. “This is impossible. Maddox put the Diamond of Faith back–he put it back decades ago.”
“Then there’s more than one,” Aviva counters, walking toward her. “What does this mean? What could it possibly be used for?”
“Ella mentioned the historian from Veiled Valley is here, in Moonrise,” Grandma says hurriedly. “Where is he?”
“In Ella’s office,” I reply, trying to get a grip on my roiling powers. My fingers teem with blue mist against my will. I tuck them in the pockets of the pajamas I’ve yet to change out of.
Aviva and I follow Grandma, matching her hurried pace as she stalks through the castle. Ella’s office door is open, but Grandma pulls it open wide, fisting the diamond as the smallest man I’ve ever seen in my life comes into view.
Arthur is… not a shifter. No one knows exactly what he is, but he’s definitely not one of us. His head barely reaches my belly button, and he has sharply pointed ears and an ancient, withered face. He was very old when Ryatt and Ella were young. Apparently, he’s… simply ageless, which is perfect, since he’s in charge of keeping the history of Eastonia. His bright eyes fall on our group, then the diamond, going wide and round.
“Well, where did you find that?” Arthur asks us.
Luke lingers in a corner looking pale in the presence of my aunt, who rises from her desk chair. “Mom, what is that?”
“A Diamond of Faith,” Grandma chokes out, looking… angry. I don’t understand. “Tell us everything you know about them and why this was found with the Book of Whispers.”
Arthur purses his lips. He pinches the bridge of his nose, mumbling under his breath, “I was worried about this.”
“About what?!” My heart is beating out of my chest. I don’t have time for any of this. I need to get back to Cole, especially if this can help him defeat Richard.
“It was rumored there was more than one diamond, but no one was able to confirm it after the Firestone empire fell. The Firestone witches killed their forges, wiped their magic away, before pulling their cities underground.”
“We know the legends,” Ella snaps, her own power flaring in the presence of the diamond. “Why would it have been with the Book of Whispers?”
“The Book of Whispers wasn’t a good thing. It wasn’t created to be used for good. It’s dark magic,” Arthur begins. “The same dark magic only very specific witches are allowed to learn about. Curses, afflictions, the works. It could create, and open, realms. It also spoke of other worlds outside of our own. Worlds of danger, of evil… and how to open portals to… possibly the afterlife and beyond. It predates the Firestone witches by a millennia, at least, and no one knows where it came from or why it was created. When the Firestone witches discovered it, they hid it away in one of their temples, believing it was a book belonging to the oldest of the gods, the most vicious and vengeful, gods who used the book to leave our world.”
“The Gate of the Gods,” I whisper, turning to Ella. “It’s not actually a gate, is it? It’s not a–a tangible thing. It’s a spell.”
Arthur nods. “It’s the spell. The reason the Firestone witches hid the book.”
My heart leaps out of my chest entirely. “Can anyone say the spell?”
“If they have a vector, yes.”
“A vector?” Ella asks, her eyes meeting mine.
“Another person to draw power from.”
“Richard wanted me for this. He believed I could open the gate. He needed my magic.” I stare at the assembled group, my eyes watering.
Ella looks at Arthur. “What happens if he opens the gate?”
“No one knows. There’s a legend about the gate opening, letting in a curse that turned Tarsian to sand and ash…. But my interpretation of the legend is different and long disputed by other historians.” He looks a little smug as he continues, “Whoever tried opening it the first time failed miserably. It backfired, and the effect was catastrophic. The spells in the Book of Whispersare desperately complicated, and each carries a risk. Mess up and die. Read the words out of order, and curse your entire realm, so on and so forth.”
My heart is on the floor between my feet. “But someone who can read the book… who can say the spells needed to activate them… they could open the gate?”
“Yes,” Arthur says in conclusion.
I whip my head to Ella. “Richard’s able to read the book. He’s already used it. The curse.”
“I know,” Ella pants, looking wildly around the room. Her gaze lands on Arthur. “What’s the significance of the diamond?”
“Diamonds of Faith were considered a… counterweight, so to speak. The owner of the diamond could break a curse, heal a body, so on–”
My mind reels over Arthurs words. Cole needs the diamond. There’s no way to stop Richard without it.
“I have to go,” I whisper, backing out of the room. I dig deep, trying to ignite those powers to jump, but I don’t feel them. I don’t have that ability, and it crushes me.
A ripple of power skitters across the sky, visible through the windows. A rush of awe and concern sounds from Ella’s office as dark mist fans across the sky, blurring the sunset. It pulls away, falling like stars of pure shadow.
Ella rushes into the hallway. “No–what is he doing?”
“Aunt Ella?” I edge toward the window as the power fizzles away.
“Ryatt dropped his wards around Moonrise–”
A blast of dark, shadowy power rushes around us, sending sparks whizzing through the air. The windows flex, nearly splintering, as Ryatt appears in a cloud of his dark mist, holding a battered woman around the waist.
“Lavender?!” I scream, running toward them but slide to a stop when I notice the sheer amount of blood covering Ryatt from head to toe.
Ryatt drops her, struggling to catch his breath. He stares past me at his wife, his mate.
“Ella,” he rasps, “drop your wards. I need your magic. All of it.”
“What happened?” Ella’s voice is shattered as she stares at her bloody, battered mate.
“Tell Kenna to drop the wards around Veiled Valley. Then, send in your witches. All witches need to come to either fight or help heal.”
“Ryatt–” Ella grinds out, but Ryatt shakes his head.
“Ryan’s forces reached the desert. It’s…” His eyes shine with an emotion I can only describe as… broken. Terrified, maybe. “We’re in over our heads.”
“What?” Ella steps toward him, but he holds out a hand, shaking his head.
“Drop all of the wards. Now.”
Ryatt disappears. Ella rushes toward him a second too late. I sprint to Lavender, pulling her upright. She’s hurt, badly. Blood seeps from wounds on her hands, her arms. Gashes from blades.
“Are you cursed?” I shout, biting through a cry of anguish as her face pales.
“N–No.” She shoves something against my chest, leaving a bloody handprint. “Cole–he–”
“What about Cole? Lavender? Help–somebody help!”
Maids rush toward us as my healing powers ignite, drifting over her skin as I struggle to hold her up right.
But Aviva’s standing shell shocked with Ella only feet away. She’s looking at Ella with determination set across her features. “Take me there.”
“No,” Ella bites out, struggling to gain her composure. “Not until I know what’s going on–”
“TAKE ME THERE!” Aviva screams. “MY MATE IS THERE!”
I can’t catch my breath. My head spins as I sink to the floor with Lavender in my arms. Grandma is at my side, tears falling down her cheeks and landing in Lavender’s hair. Her powers of healing are so much stronger than mine. Lavender’s wounds knit together quickly, fully, but Lavender’s exhausted. Something crinkles when the maids pull Lavender away. Six pages worth of a letter land in my lap.
It’s Cole’s handwriting.