Page 54 of The Unseelie War
Abigail laughed. At least she found Ava’s candor amusing. “Someone needs to anchor the Web while you rebuild its structure. “When you pulled Serrik from it, you destroyed its strands. That is why the worlds merged so catastrophically. To begin to separate them, someone must take his place first. Then, we will need an anchor-point for Earth. And one for Tir-n’Aill as well. Past that, I do not know how to do the deed.”
She furrowed her brow. They neededthreepeople? Serrik or Ava herself could be Earth. She didn’t know about Tir n’Aill—maybeAlex? But…the dream-state of the Web would destroy Abigail, turning her into one of the unreal creatures that had once been alive like Nos and Serrik. “I don’t fucking like it. You’d never be able to leave.”
“I appreciate that. But there is no other way, Ava. It is a small price to pay for a chance for peace, once and for all.” Abigail's voice carried the patience of someone who had already considered every alternative. “The Web requires?—”
“I know what the Web requires!” Ava's voice cracked with frustration. “But this ismyfucking fault! It should bemewho ‘dies,’ notyou!”
“Ava…oh, Ava.” Abigail reached out and gently took her hand in hers, pulling in close by her side. “None of this is your fault. You were manipulated, used, pushed into impossible choices by beings far older and more cunning than yourself.”
Something in the queen's tone made Ava pause. There was an odd emphasis to her words, as if she was trying to convey a deeper meaning. “Speaking of manipulation…” Her eyes narrowed as she studied Abigail's face. “How exactly do you know so much about all of this? About entering the Web voluntarily? About what needs to happen?”
Abigail's expression became carefully neutral. “I have been researching the matter since our last encounter.”
“Researching? Or have you been gettingcoaching?”Ava pulled her hand out of Abigail’s and turned to face her.
“I don't know what you're suggesting.”
“I think you do.” Ava crossed her arms. “Someone gave you very detailed instructions about how to handle this crisis. Didn’t they?”
The slight tightening around Abigail's eyes was answer enough.
“I thought so!” Ava felt a familiar surge of anger. “Let me guess—tall, dark, made of ravens, fond of cryptic bullshit?”
“Ava—”
“More fucking goddamnmeddlingfrom the Morrigan. It’s her fault we’re all in this fucking mess, don’t you understand? She’s the one who created Valroy. She’s the one who created Serrik. She started all this mess!” Ava's voice was getting louder, and the lights inthe buildings around them flickered. “This whole thing—the convenient solution, the perfectly timed intervention—it's all part of herfuckingplan! Serrik is right. Maybe it should be the Morrigan we put in the middle of the fucking Web, not you!”
Abigail was quiet for a long moment, her green eyes studying Ava's face as if trying to determine how much she could safely reveal. “She has been…providing guidance,” she admitted finally. “Visions of what could happen if we fail to act quickly.”
“What kind of visions?”
“The complete destruction of all three realities. The Web…you…collapsing entirely, taking everything with it.” Abigail's voice was barely audible. “She says we have hours, maybe less, before the damage becomes irreversible.”
“And you believe her?” Ava's laugh was bitter. “After everything she's done, after all the ways she's manipulated us from the beginning, you actually trust her?”
“What choice do I have?” Abigail's composure finally cracked, revealing the desperation beneath. “This is the end of it all. This is the catastrophe I have sought to avoid for centuries, Ava. Valroy won't stop until he's destroyed everything he can reach. If the Morrigan can aid us?—”
“At what cost?” Ava interrupted. “Your life? Our freedom? The right to make our own choices without some cosmic puppet master pulling the strings?”
“Sacrifice is always necessary.”
“Says the goddess who never seems to be the onefuckingmaking it.” Ava began pacing, her frustration building. “I am so fucking sick of this. Every time we think we've found our own way forward, every time we think we're making our own choices, it turns out to be part of some cosmic chess game she's been playing all along.”
She stopped pacing to face Abigail directly. “This whole situation—Serrik in the Web, Valroy's freedom, the barriers between worlds failing—it all traces back to her. She created the problem, and nowshe's offering solutions that conveniently serveherpurposes. But why? Why! What’s she fucking after?”
“I do not know. I cannot speak to the minds of the gods. What would you have us do?” Abigail's voice carried a note of desperation. “The worlds are dying. The threads will come undone. We need a solution, and I see no others.”
“Then we find one,” Ava said firmly. “Our own solution. Not hers.”
“And if you are wrong?” Abigail gestured toward the chaos in front of them. “How many more will die while we fumble about?”
Before Ava could answer, a shadow blotted out the sun overhead.
“Valroy,” Abigail breathed. “He has found us.”
Ava felt like her stomach had been thrown off a cliff. “Ah,fuck.”
Serrik walked up behind her, placing a hand on each of her shoulders. He was once more in human form.
