Eventually, we hugged, said goodbye, and went to the tearoom, where Mary was waiting. Mary was in Haven whites, but the three of us wore brown tunics and pants made from rough cloth that made me feel like I belonged in a medieval village. A witch had procured the clothing for us after Ethan had explained what the people of Ember wore.
Because once we were in Ember, we needed to blend in. That wouldn’t be possible in modern clothing or Haven whites.
Mary looked us over. “I was alive when clothing like this was commonplace,” she said. “Back then, things were much more… primal.”
“Ember is extremely different from Earth,” Ethan said. “At least, from present day Earth.”
Mary watched me and Mira with worry.
“We’ll be okay,” I said. “We have Ethan looking out for us.”
Ethan nodded, looking pleased with my statement—with my trust in him. There was also a hint of question in his eyes.
He had to be wondering if I’d taken the memory potion.
Would he ask?
No, the answer came to me immediately. Because if he respected my decision, he wouldn’t risk telling me and having me find out what I’d done. And I believed he did respect my decision—even though he didn’t know what decision I’d made.
Mary walked to the back corner of the room, pressed her hand against the wooden panel, and pushed it open.
A secret door.
“Follow me,” she said, and she led us into a dimly lit room hidden behind the tearoom.
A simple fountain—like the ones in the mall people threw pennies into for good luck—took up the majority of the room. Other than that, there were no decorations.
Mary reached into her pocket, pulled out three coins, and handed one to each of us.
I held the coin closer to examine it. Heavier than a regular coin, it was gold, with a portrait of a beautiful, doll-like woman carved into it. A delicate flower wreath sat on her head. I flipped it over and looked at the tall, elaborate crown carved on the back. Letters curved around the crown, spelling out the words “Empress Sorcha.”
“Portal tokens,” Mary explained. “Together, you’ll toss your tokens into the water and jump into the fountain.”
Nervous energy rushed through me, and I ran my fingers over the carved surfaces of the coin to calm myself.
“The Empress is waiting for your arrival,” she continued. “She doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
Ethan stepped up to the edge of the fountain. “We’ll hold hands when we jump through,” he said. “So we’re never in different realms at the same time.”
I stared at the water and didn’t move. Because we’d be jumping into the water and not coming back up.
I hated having my head underwater. Just the thought made my lungs hurt, like they were already begging for air.
How did anyone enjoy the sensation of not being able to breathe?
“Gemma?” Mira asked, already standing by Ethan’s side. “Are you coming?”
“Of course.” I walked up to her side, so Mira was between me and Ethan.
Ethan’s jaw tensed.
Had he expected me to stand next to him? Did he want me to stand next to him, so he could hold my hand when we jumped into the fountain?
It doesn’t matter, I thought, shaking myself out of it. Even if he wants to hold your hand, it’s better for everyone if you don’t want to hold his.
“It’ll be okay,” Mira assured me. She must have thought I was still thinking about my dislike of the water, instead of beating myself up over my desire to hold her boyfriend’s hand.
“I know.” I couldn’t look at her—or at Ethan. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Ethan counted to three, and we tossed our coins into the fountain.
Purple mist spread through the water, glittering like a galaxy of stars, and swirled around until it filled the fountain.
“It’s time,” Mary said. “Go now, before the portal closes.”
Ethan and I grabbed Mira’s hands at the same time, the three of us stepped up onto the edge, and I barely had time to suck in a deep lungful of air before we jumped into the sparkling purple water.
11
Gemma
We didn’t make a splash. I didn’t even feel my feet hit the surface of the water.
Instead, we floated through nothingness. It was what I imagined it would feel like to float through space.
I opened my eyes, stopped holding my breath, and sucked in cool, crisp air. Bright lines of light surrounded us, and I gazed around in wonder. It looked like the scenes in Star Wars when they jumped their ships to light speed.
Before I could glance at Mira and Ethan, my feet hit solid ground, and the racing stars melted away.
I landed with so much force that I fell onto my knees, dragging Mira and Ethan down with me. Luckily, we all reacted in time to let go of each other’s hands and catch ourselves with our palms. Otherwise, our faces would have smashed into the marble floor.
The quick reflexes were probably thanks to all that time training with Raven.
There was something under my hand—the gold coin. I grabbed it to place in my pocket, but stopped midway there.
Because there were two pairs of feet in front of us. One in simple, flat sandals, and the other in crystal heels.
I looked up and gasped at the sight of the women standing before us—mainly at their shimmering, iridescent wings that looked like they were made of holographic lines of light.
The woman with the crystal shoes wore a white gown with skirts that puffed out of her waist like Cinderella. Her face was unmistakably the same one as on the coin, and she wore the tall crown from the back of the coin on her pale blonde hair. Her wings were the color of diamonds, and they sparkled just like them.
She had to be the Empress of the Otherworld—Sorcha.
The other woman had gold wings, and she wore a green dress that was far less formal, although its colorful stitching looked intricate and expensive. She watched me with calm gray eyes that held decades of wisdom. Or perhaps centuries, given the immortality of the fae. She stood slightly back from the Empress, as if it weren’t clear enough from the Empress’s gown and crown that she was the one in charge.
Ethan hurried to his feet. Mira and I did the same.
We were in a large, open-air courtyard with Roman-styled columns lining all four sides of it. The tree leaves and flowers in the gardens were sparse and wilted, like they were barely holding onto life. Perhaps they had trouble getting enough sunlight through the light blue protection dome up ahead—the one that I knew surrounded the entire city.
I refocused on the Empress, who was eyeing Ethan in disapproval.
He bowed his head. “Empress Sorcha,” he said.
“King Pendragon,” she replied, and then she glanced at me and Mira, waiting.
I did as Mary had instructed us and curtsied. Hopefully the Empress didn’t notice my legs shaking. “Your Highness,” I said.
Mira curtsied and said the same.
“Gemma,” the Empress said to me, and then she looked to my sister. “Mira.”
The golden-winged woman gave me a small smile of approval, and I stopped holding my breath.
I hadn’t messed up the royal greeting. At least, not terribly enough to cause offense.