Page 130 of Secrets of Avalon

"The Fae ruined Earth for all," a man shouts from across the room.

Nimue whirls around to face the voice. "But they lost their home," she hisses, her words carrying a dangerous edge. "It is time to forgive and move on. It is time to open the door and heal Yggdrasil. The glitches with the wormholes, the broken magick... It's only going to get worse."

“You just want your magick back, siren,” someone else sneers.

Nimue's eyes flash. "I have my song. I have no use for a soul match. Sirens sire children with strangers. We do not mate. It is the rest of the world that suffers without our abilities to help you."

Queen Sahsa leans back against her husband. "We can't know what opening the door to Earth now would do. We've been gone from Earth so long. Their world is likely unrecognizable to the one we left." Her gaze slides to Melinda, sharp and assessing. "What can you say of Earth, Queen Stormblood?"

Melinda’s body stiffens. Her hesitation clear. Our eyes meet. "Speak," I encourage softly, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Tell the truth, my love. They all need to know."

She turns back to Queen Sahsa, her chin lifting slightly. "Magick is hunted on Earth," Melinda begins, her voice steady despite the shake in her hand. "The Inquisitors burn those found to have magick. Or the Enclave catches you and you're forced to use magick to fight the Inquisitors and criminally take advantage of humans without magick."

A collective gasp ripples through the room. Queen Sahsa’s composure cracks for a moment. "I never imagined it getting quite that bad."

Melinda's grip on my hand tightens. "Not only are you either hunted and killed or hunted and recruited, magick itself is cursed. Using it costs life."

I know she's thinking of the curse she warned me about. That she couldn't have a child without it killing me. I don’t believe it to be true, but her fear is real. She believes it with her whole heart. But she's here now, in Avalon. She's not on Earth. Yggdrasil filled her with magick. She's not hurting anyone. She's not cursed. Not anymore.

“Cost life how?” My mother asks from behind us.

Melinda takes a deep breath and turns to face my mother. "When magick is used, people get sick. Plants and animals die. Sometimes when enough magick is used at once, people die too… When a magickal baby is born, the father’s life is the cost."

The silence that follows is deafening. I can almost hear the collective intake of breath as the gravity of her words sinks in. The air is heavy, charged with shock and horror.

"Yes. Yes. It's all quite sad." Nimue shatters the stillness. She throws her hand up in the air. "That's why we need to open the Earth-Realm door and restore Yggdrasil's connection. We can fix it!"

No one answers her. And strangely they all look directly at me.

Like I have the answers.

But I don’t.

Queen Sahsa breaks the silence first. "Opening the Earth-Realm door could bring that curse upon us all. We cannot risk it until we know more about what happened on Earth."

King Lorakian nods in agreement, his eyes sharp. "We must consider the safety of all our realms."

My father leans forward, putting his hands down on his desk. "Perhaps there's a way to cleanse the magick before attempting to open the door, but I agree that we need more information."

The room's focus on me intensifies. My mind races, assessing the dangers of rushed action against the risks of complacency. The fate of eight realms hangs in the balance, and one wrong move could spell disaster for multiple worlds. Especially if the tainted magick from Earth can spread. I hadn’t considered that possibility and am grateful for my father’s input. We do need more information.

"I agree the wise advice of my father. We should not act rashly."

Most of the gathered royalty nod as well, a ripple of reluctant agreement spreading through the chamber. Finally they’re actually thinking semi-logically instead of just arguing.

"Let's plan to convene again soon to discuss our next steps. For now, I ask that you all return to your realms. The Fae will get our house in order, and I expect each of you to do the same." My gaze sweeps the room once more, daring anyone to challenge this decision.

“You’re all just going to do nothing?” Nimue steps forward again. “We need that door open. We found your mate. The other missing soul shards have to be on Earth, too.”

She is likely right, but I can’t outright agree with Nimue, not and keep the rest of the royals at least somewhat on my side.

“We?” King Lorakian narrows his gaze on the Siren queen. “What do you mean we?”

“I mean, my sirens found Melinda Mayweather and I brought her to Avalon.”

“And you did all of this without opening the Earth-Realm door?” Queen Sahsa tips her head waiting for Nimue to answer.

“Yes, we sirens can travel just as we always have, but if we collectively don’t decide to agree and open the Earth-Realm door, Yggdrasil’s connection to Earth remains broken.” Nimue crosses her arms over her chest and glares at the other queen.

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