Fae led the way across the devastated Hall of Reflections to the stairs they’d been seeking. They ascended in a spiral, the top out of sight from the bottom. According to the Cartographer’s maps, these stairs should lead directly to the chamber in which the Key in its pedestal resided. But according to Meister Roderick, there wasn’t actually an access point. The chamber itself was blocked off from them, but they didn’t know the details.
It was time to investigate for themselves.
Core beeped and booped happily, doing a little midair flip as he floated up ahead of them. “Hey, hold on a second!” Jupiter called, and Core came to a stop, turning back to her and displaying a trio of question marks on his display screen. Jupiter placed her hands on her hips and gave the little robot a slightly exasperated look. “Let the leader go first.”
Core gave a cheerful whistle, flipped once, and floated to Jupiter’s side, hovering above her shoulder.
“It’s really okay,” Fae said, laughing softly as she started up the stairs. “We’re all going to the same place, and there isn’t any danger here.”
A ripple of emotion spread to them all, with Sonya as its origin point. Fae’s declaration of safety struck home for her, after the destruction she had just wrought with her Wellspring power. No one said anything. They didn’t need to. They all shared in Sonya’s gratitude and relief, and that was enough.
Up the black, tiled stairs they went, with ample room for two or three to walk side-by-side. Fae, Olivia, and Neptune took the lead, with Jupiter and Mercury eagerly following behind, Core floating along above. Behind them came Madeline with Ciel, then Sonya, while Toryu took up the rear, puffing on his pipe, tinging the air with a calming fragrance of rose petals and vanilla.
The stairs wound around themselves twice before finally arriving at the top — and a dead end.
They stepped onto a landing with only one path before them, which suddenly stopped at a smooth, slightly reflective black wall. There was no sign of a door, no seam or hint of a secret passage.
“According to the maps, this is where the stairs connect to the chamber,” Neptune said, running her hand carefully over the wall’s smooth, polished tiles. “Maybe there’s a secret passage, but I don’t think that’s the case.”
“Did someone say ‘secret passage’?” Jupiter asked, bounding forward to join the investigation.
“She said she doesn’t think there actually is one,” Mercury said, rolling her eyes.
“Sorry, my brain doesn’t process that kind of defeatism,” Jupiter said. Core tweedled excitedly, hovering up to the highest part of the wall and examining the corners with the aid of a bright flashlight beam.
“Why have stairs that lead up here at all if it’s just to an impassable wall?” Madeline asked. “There’s certainly something strange about all this.”
“But we know that Revue Palace has a theater that connects to the Key’s chamber in its own way,” Fae said.
“Oh, maybe that’s it,” Neptune said. “Once, this path was open. But at some point, they decided to seal it off, leaving the only access point the one through Revue Palace.”
“But why?” Jupiter asked. She was on her hands and knees, carefully examining where the wall met the floor. “And can we be sure of that? Can anyone tell how old this wall is in relation to the floor and everything else?”
Ciel stepped up to the wall and tapped it with his index finger. A ripple of white light spread outward along the dead end, vanishing at the edges. “It is younger than the rest of the Chamber,” he said.
“You can just do that?” Jupiter asked.
Ciel nodded. “It isn’t complicated… I think,” he said. “Analysis is easier than a lot of other magic. Even easier on inanimate objects and surfaces.”
“Can you tell what’s behind the wall?” Jupiter asked. She smacked her fist into her open palm. “And how thick it is? Maybe we can smash through it.”
“Can you tell anything about how it was built, or why?” Neptune asked.
“It isn’t thick in a physical sense,” Ciel said, tapping the wall again, forming another brief ripple of light. “The physical wall is only a symbol. The actual seal is done by magic, not tiles. And that seal is infinite. The chamber is inaccessible from this side.”
Jupiter slumped on the floor, letting out a heavy groan. “Come on, kid, there’s gotta be a secret way through!”
“It seems like… there was a theft,” Ciel said. “The Key was once accessible to all. That was too dangerous. So they sealed it. It is very old. Not as old as the Hall of Reflections, but older than any of us.”
“Older than you, big guy?” Jupiter asked, eyeing Toryu.
“I’m sorry,” Ciel said, bowing his head with a somewhat sheepish expression. “I did not mean the Dragon.”
“It isn’t much younger than me, though,” Toryu said. “I do recall something like a ‘theft’ of something very precious in the Hall of Reflections, long ago. I didn’t realize it was the Key of the World.”
“So it’s not in there anymore?” Jupiter asked.
“Don’t freak out,” Mercury said. “Delilah saw it through the mirrors in the Reflection Theater, right? It was stolen, a really long time ago, but they wouldn’t seal the chamber back up if it was still empty.”
“But that does mean we aren’t accessing the Key from here,” Fae said. “I guess we should figure out how to get to Revue Palace, then.”
“Where’s the nearest Daylight Bastion?” Mercury asked.
“You ask that as if it’s a simple thing to get to a Bastion,” Neptune said with a sigh. She was still facing the wall, still observing it, but now rummaged in her bag until she brought out a notebook. She flipped through it. “At least from the notes I took from the time tables Meister Roderick showed us, there isn’t any easy way to access one. There’s a place where we can open a musical pathway, though. But it’ll either take us to Eventide Archive or the City of Anguish.”
“That’s way too harsh a coin-flip,” Jupiter said with a groan.
“But Neptune’s luck is perfect with musical pathways so far,” Mercury said, grinning. “Why not continue to try her luck?”
Core suddenly beeped loudly, three short beeps followed by a pause, then a triple-beep again, pause, and again. He flew over to face Fae, and Fae stared at his display screen in astonishment.
“Incoming message from Margot! Incoming message from Margot!”
“Already?” Jupiter asked, leaping to her feet and gaping. “No way!”
“Maybe we experienced a temporal flux, and moved up the time table for Margot,” Madeline said, gazing hopefully at the little robot.
Fae said nothing. She fought against the hope and excitement rolling off of the others. It was too soon, too fast. There was no way Margot had already finished analyzing everything and figured out a cure for Fae… was there?
“Go ahead,” Fae said, nodding to Core. “Show us.”
Core’s display screen flickered with static for several seconds, before resolving into a low-resolution, monochromatic image of Margot’s round face and large eyes that bore a mixture of childlike curiosity and anxious shyness. “Oh, it worked!” Margot said, her voice coming through tinny but understandable. She smiled and looked up slightly, probably at Lore, through whom she was patching to Core. “We did it, Lore! Fantastic!”
“So?” Jupiter asked. “Did you figure out how to cure Fae?”
“Oh,” Margot said, her smile fading as she looked down. “I… I’m sorry. The analysis is still in progress. It’s going to take some time yet. I really shouldn’t have jumped so quickly to a test call, should I? I really got your hopes up. I’m so sorry.”
“No, it’s all right,” Fae said, forcing a reassuring smile. “Really. This was way too fast for a proper result, we all knew that. And it’s good to test things out and make sure you really can contact us. Thanks for calling.”
Margot looked up suddenly, total disbelief written all over her face. “Oh, thank goodness!” she cried with a heavy sigh of relief. “And you’re right about the test call. I’ve done this on my own over short ranges before, but I don’t even know where you are, now. It seemed like the perfect time to test things out. I don’t want to get results and then fail to —” The screen flickered and hissed with static for a few seconds, then returned to Margot’s face. “— important it is to be able to trust your equipment.”
“Speaking of which, let’s make that connection a bit more stable, if we can,” Jupiter said, reaching up to Core and opening a small panel on his underside. She started tinkering lightly with very fine tools. “Margot, how’s it look and sound on your end?”
“Good,” Margot said. “Oh! Oh, wait, that’s much better! Hold on, let me try something on my end, too.” She disappeared from view, and there were the faint sounds of mechanical work being done. When she returned, the screen flickered less, and the resolution had increased somewhat, bringing forth a much smoother picture, though still not anywhere near a proper HD display, and the image was still colorless. “How’s that?”
“Excellent,” Jupiter said with a grin. “Look at us go! The dream team!”
“O-oh,” Margot stammered, looking away. “You… you think we make a good team?”
“Sure do!” Jupiter said, flashing a thumbs-up. “This is so exciting! I’ve never tinkered with proper magitech before, let alone a super cool robot that can do video calls across realms!”
“You’re a natural,” Margot said, laughing. Jupiter positively beamed. There was a series of beeps and boops from a distant place in Margot’s workshop, a somewhat lower tone than the high-pitched tones of Core and Lore. “Oh, Cee! I’m coming! Sorry, I need to get back to work. I’m so glad this worked, though. When I have results, I’ll be sure to call you — and not a moment sooner. I won’t go and get your hopes up, I promise.”
“You have our unlimited trust,” Jupiter said. “We’ll be looking forward to your next call.”
Margot nodded, shrinking away shyly as the call ended.
Fae immediately spoke up, cutting off six unspoken apologies before they could be voiced. “Don’t worry over me, please,” she said. “I know you were all excited, but I never expected to get an answer this soon. It’s okay. I’m okay.”
“You really are,” Mercury said, gazing at Fae in awe. “I just… I’m surprised. I know how important getting healed is to you.”
“And it’ll happen,” Fae said. “But not this fast. Besides, even if she did have an answer and a cure right now, we have work to do.”
“But then —” Jupiter started.
“We have to figure out how to reach a Daylight Bastion,” Sonya said, stepping to Fae’s side. “What’s the best way?”
“Could I help with the musical pathway?” Olivia asked. “I haven’t opened one before, but if there’s anything I can do…”
“Actually, that might be perfect,” Neptune said, musing thoughtfully. “That kind of tonal resonance isn’t something any of us has been able to use before, not with the instruments we know.”
“Or our voices,” Mercury said with an enthusiastic nod. “Let’s try it!”
“Let’s,” Neptune said, starting back down the stairs.
“So the type of music can change the pathway?” Fae asked.
“That’s right,” Neptune said. “With our usual options, Eventide Archive and the City of Anguish would be the only possible destinations. But with Olivia’s viola… hmm.”
“Give her a chance to figure it out,” Jupiter said in her patented too-loud whisper.
Back across the destroyed section of the Chamber of the Key they went, then through a door that led down a long, empty corridor — not a mirror in sight. At the end was another door, leading into… another long, empty corridor.
“What’s with the design of this place?” Jupiter asked.
“Don’t ask me,” Neptune said, stopping halfway down the corridor and turning to face the left wall. There was a faint mark on the polished surface, like something had scuffed against it and no one had cleaned it. “This is where the pathway opens.” She placed her hand against the mark and closed her eyes. A moment later, she nodded and stepped back. “Olivia, if we do this right, we should be able to go straight to Eventide Archive.”
“I don’t like the uncertainty,” Jupiter said, raising an eyebrow.
“What happens if you don’t do it right?” Madeline asked.
Neptune sighed. “I’m not entirely sure. I can’t tell where else it might go.”
“Isn’t that bad?” Jupiter asked.
Core did a little midair flip, tweedling excitedly. On his screen he displayed: “Uncertainty is part of all great adventures! Come on, Jupiter!”
“I think it’s worth a try,” Olivia said, opening her viola case. “And she said this will work as long as we do it right. I have no intentions of doing otherwise.”
“There’s the confidence I need,” Jupiter said, though she still didn’t sound so sure.
Olivia and Neptune started to discuss things, planning out the song to use to open the pathway. As they did, Fae felt something strange. She couldn’t place it at first — it was something physical, but faint; a sort of warmth, and a faint tingling against her chest. It took her a moment to decipher the cause, and then she reached into her shirt and pulled out the key that hung around her neck, the same key that Oliver had given her on the Celestial Shore.
It was the key that went to the book she’d received from the Fates. And it was glowing, radiating a soft warmth.
“Whoa, whoa, wait, is it time?” Mercury asked, crowding close to Fae, gazing at the key in awe.
“Yes,” Fae said, just as surprised. She’d carried around that book for so long, waiting to find a key — and then when she’d found the key, she still had to wait longer. She’d started to think she was never going to open the book, or that it wouldn’t be relevant until long after the current crisis was ended.
But suddenly, the time had come.
“Go on, go on, open it!” Jupiter said, her excitement restored.
“This is as good a place and time as any,” Neptune said. “We don’t know for sure where the musical pathway will take us. But right now, we’re safe and alone.”
Fae nodded. “Right,” she said in a small voice. Slowly, wishing her hands wouldn’t tremble, she removed the book from her bag and sat down on the floor, setting it in her lap. Its hard black covers were done with a glittering silver trim, golden lines forming strange patterns along the front, spine, and back. The pages were edged in silver, and the book was held closed by a latch bearing an ornate lock.
Fae inserted the key into the lock. And it fit.
She turned it once, and a soft click sounded. The lock glittered, shimmered, and then vanished.
Fae opened the book.
——
Shana and her team returned to the Library of Solitude’s Dream. With them were the former Nightmare-Child Alexander, the Crystal Queen, and the youngest prince of the Crystal Family, Jude.
Also with them was the body of the Crystal King. The pair of Ben doppels holding it laid it down gently and stepped back. Garnet and Jude approached, hand-in-hand, and knelt at their father’s side once more.
Shana turned away along with her friends, giving the royal siblings some space. Such a moment was, somehow, familiar to Shana — victory that didn’t feel like a victory.
Just once, I’d love to be able to celebrate a complete victory. To come out of a win feeling like we won.
Alexander helped her, a little. The little boy, a part of Sal’s heart separated and locked in this strange In-Between realm, smiled up at her. “Thank you,” he said. “You saved me. Not just from that place. From myself. And I was able to help you in return. I wish…” he glanced past her at the somber scene, “I wish everything had gone perfectly. But my work isn’t done.”
“You’re really going back to Sal, huh?” Kathryn asked.
Alexander nodded. “I have to. His heart is where I belong. I don’t… know how long it will take to return.” He gazed into the distance with a wistful expression. “Nothing like this has ever happened before. And I have to work my way past his resistance.”
“He doesn’t want you to return,” Shias said.
Alexander cocked his head to the side, a quizzical expression on his face. “I’m… not sure that’s exactly it. Not consciously. But his subconscious has rejected me. Anyway.” He shook his head. “I’ve lingered too long. It’s time for me to return. I don’t know how long it will take, and I don’t know how much of an impact I can have on him. But I will do my best to help.”
“Maybe you’re exactly what he needs,” Shana said with a smile. “Seems to me he’s missing the best part of his heart.”
Alexander bowed his head shyly. “I hope you’re right,” he said with a small smile. “Farewell, Shana. Until we meet again.” He turned away and started to walk. After a few steps, he faded away, vanishing from sight.
“Now what do we do?” Kathryn asked. She glanced back towards the Crystal Family, but only for a moment. “They’ve got a lot to deal with. But we… are we done here?” She looked up and around the vast chamber, empty aside from this world’s Dream Forge and the stairs leading up and down. “It doesn’t seem all that different. Did we really save the Library’s Dream?”
“There was something… off before,” Shana said. “I don’t know quite how to describe it. But you remember the empty, fake books on all the shelves before. That’s kind of how the whole place felt — empty and false. We should go check out some bookshelves to be sure, but it feels more right now.”
“I would like to go with you,” Garnet said, joining them.
“Are you sure?” Rae asked, looking at her with concern. “You just lost your father, and… well… if you need more time, we’d all understand.”
“Here and now is not the place or time to fully mourn,” Garnet said, dabbing lightly at her eyes with a pale blue handkerchief. “Jude, Mother, and I will see to it that he receives a proper ceremony in the Waking World. But before returning, I wish to check that the Library’s Dream is healed. I have come here often, after all — I can tell the easiest. If I can be any help to you, one more time, then… I would like that.” Her voice trembled very slightly at the end, but otherwise she seemed quite composed.
She’s holding so much back. Trying to be strong, while she feels she still needs to.
Shana nodded. “We’d be glad to have your help before we finally part ways. Shall we?”
Shana, Garnet, and Annabelle led the way together up through the floors of the Library’s massive central tower. Shias, Kathryn, Rae, and Ben came with them, leaving the Crystal Queen and Jude to watch over the Crystal King’s body. Altair padded along at Shana’s side, wagging his tail.
Out from the central tower, they strode down long corridors in search of the first hub room full of books. On the way, Shana’s curiosity overwhelmed her, and she couldn’t help asking questions. “What comes next for you?” she asked Garnet. “The things your father said… what does that mean for you? I’m sorry if it’s —”
Garnet waved her off with a small smile. “Oh, no, it’s not wrong at all for you to ask,” she said. “Father, he… he counts on me to take his place upon the Crystal Throne. We have had many disagreements in the past, but in the end… he is placing his faith in my ideals. There are things I need to look into when I get home. He referenced a secret journal that, as far as I know, he has only ever told me about. I’ve never read it, but it seems now is the time.”
“But ‘ruling’ in the Enchanted Dominion is different from on Earth, right?” Shias asked.
Garnet nodded. “Yes. ‘Ruling’ is more akin to serving, in our creed. To sit upon the Crystal Throne is to bear the weight of responsibility, duty, and service. The Crystal Family doesn’t tell the rest of the Dominion how to operate itself. We are charged primarily with defending the Dominion from existential threats. That was why my father took action against the Radiance — the Radiant King’s obsession with absolute power threatened all peoples and lands. But we are also — and this is what has always mattered most to me — seated with the responsibility of safeguarding and establishing harmony and peace among all peoples. For so long, that has been taken to only mean Enchanted, but… I want to change that. I understand the grievances of the people of Sunset Square, but Enchanted, Humans, and Halfchants should not be divided and set against one another. The Enchanted Dominion is, astonishingly, still a secret to the great majority of Earth and Humanity. But… I don’t think it should be that way.”
“Grimoire used to be that way,” Shana said. “Or, well, the mages in Grimoire used to be a secret to the rest of the people. To our own neighbors. Now, the secret’s out. It’s gone surprisingly well so far. But…” she let out a sigh, wistful and curious, thinking of what was to come, “it’s going to be a very interesting several years. There’s no way the secret’s going to stop at Grimoire’s borders. And I’m not sure it should.”
“The whole world’s gonna change,” Ben said, hands in his pockets, staring at the ceiling. “It’s hard to wrap your head around it.”
“We won’t change, though,” Kathryn said, throwing her arms around Shana and Shias to one side, and Rae and Ben to the other, pulling them close. “So really, there’s nothing to worry about.”
“There’s a lot to worry about right now,” Shana said, laughing. “So let’s get through that, first. There needs to be a world for it to change.”
“And you’ve already been changing it,” Annabelle said, smiling up at Shana. “The Library of Solitude was taken over by Darkness, and you restored it. My sisters and I were scattered and lost, and you reunited us.”
“All of you Greysons have done remarkable things,” Garnet said. “Caleb rescued me and my family from imprisonment. Delilah restored Revue Palace and became the first Human Paladin along with Alice. Fae destroyed Collapse.” She smiled, stopping at the entrance to the first hub room. “And there is so much more that all of you have done, things not so easily recognized. Personal achievements, personal successes. You should be very proud of yourselves — and each other.”
“Yeah,” Shana said, beaming, her heart bursting with pride.
Down into the hub room they went, examining the shelves of books. The books here weren’t fake at all, like they had been when the Nightmare-Child was in control. They were real books, though very different from what would be found in the Waking World’s Library of Solitude. Many of them were books of poetry, written in mirror-script, so that they could only be read by holding them up to a mirror. Others were fairy tale collections, though Shana didn’t recognize the titles — things like ‘The Snowbells of Dozen Rock,’ ‘Watcher’s Friend and Guardsman’s Treasure,’ or ‘The Baker and His Wife and the Crystal Cavern.’
“There’s so much fiction,” Shana said, flipping through another book with wondrous amazement. “About half of these are in mirror-script, too.”
“And others are in languages I don’t even recognize,” Ben said, holding up an open book with lettering that was completely foreign to Shana.
“But there are books,” Garnet said, with a relieved smile. “The Library’s Dream is as it should be.”
“It’s such an empty Dream,” Annabelle said, looking all around, “but somehow, it’s more whimsical than the actual Library. It feels like a hidden side of the Library itself. It’s so serious and austere, but here in its Dream, it’s… playful, in a way.”
“Dreams reveal much about who we are,” Garnet said.
Shana nodded. “Nightmares are obvious ways that Dreams show us the hidden parts of ourselves,” she said. “But regular Dreams do it, too. We’re all made up of layers. And we don’t let everything show when we’re awake. Sometimes… we don’t even know those parts of ourselves.”
“And we got the Library back to normal,” Kathryn said, grinning. “Mission accomplished.”
“Accidental mission,” Ben said. “We didn’t even plan on coming here, remember?”
“It all just sort of… happened to us,” Rae said. “But… it was good. I don’t think anyone else could have saved Alexander from himself.”
Shana felt a little embarrassed at the praise, but she didn’t shrink from it. This had been completely unexpected and unplanned, but…
We did good, didn’t we?
I guess it’s about time we woke up.
Within her, both Heart and the Eternal Flame agreed. The evil that plagued this Dream was done.
It was time for them to go back to the Waking World.
Shana and her team bid Garnet goodbye where they were, and Heart came forth in physical form once more to also say goodbye — and to guide the way out of the Library’s Dream. “I don’t know how we were pulled into it, and I wouldn’t be able to find it myself,” she said, “but leaving, now that our reason for being here is over, is not so difficult at all.” She raised her hand, and a door appeared. Opening it, she ushered the others through, into a familiar landscape — the magenta clouds and golden sky of Dreamworld.
Once returned there, Shana and her friends woke up.
Returning to Alexandra’s mansion was a surreal experience. Shana had never been so deep into a Dream for so long before, and it took her what seemed like ages to open her eyes, to move her limbs, to get her body readjusted to the Waking World. Scattered around her in the massive bed, Shias, Annabelle, Altair, Kathryn, Rae, and Ben all were just as slow to stir, to rise, to blink and rub bleariness from their eyes, and to turn and look at each other.
“So… if we can help it,” Kathryn said, pausing for a huge, lengthy yawn — which everyone else echoed — “let’s not go into that In-Between realm again. That’s, like… a double-Dream, right? I feel like I’ve been asleep for weeks.”
“And it’s only been about a full night’s rest,” Annabelle said, eyeing the clock on the wall. The little girl stretched and yawned again, echoed by the rest of them.
Ben’s stomach growled. Shana’s, too, and then Kathryn’s.
“Hungry work, saving the world,” Ben said, first to step off the bed. He swayed for a moment, bracing against the wall for support. “Oh, man. It’s like I’ve got sea legs. I’m not used to standing on solid ground.”
“Don’t be so drama-ooh!” Kathryn started, hopping out of bed and promptly falling flat on her face. She rolled over and sat up on the floor, blinking at the others in astonishment. “Okay. Take your time getting your bearings. It’s… weird.”
It was weird, for all of them. Altair stretched several times, slowly padding around the bed and shaking himself off, not over-eager to leap down to the floor just yet. They all learned from Ben and Kathryn’s experiences, getting out of bed slowly and helping each other find their footing. Shana was astonished, swaying back and forth as if the world was trying to get away from her and she didn’t know which direction to stand. She didn’t feel comfortable in her awake body, in the Waking World, and she realized this was part of what Heart had warned her about.
It was dangerous to linger too long in sleep, or in Dreams. A Dream is meant to be woken from.
Her thoughts, as she got her bearings back, went to the Palette in the Clouds. The entire city, and all its people, had escaped to Dreamworld in order to protect the Key of the World. It was a noble, daring maneuver for the safety of the entire universe.
But they’d been there for centuries. Possibly even longer than Leon had been the Radiant King, locking himself within a Dream made manifest in the Waking World. Suddenly, she could understand the fears of the people of that city. They were terrified of returning to the Waking World, of ending the Dream. And they feared Shana most of all, for being the Dreamer, for wanting to send them back when her mission was over.
So long in the Dream… they’re tied to it. It feels like home, now.
I need to find a way to show them that it’s all right. To show them that they don’t need to be afraid.
More than that, I need to be there to help show them the ropes of the Waking World when they finally do come back. Now I see what just a little too long in a Dream — or a double-Dream — can do. They’ll have the hardest time of all readjusting. Some of them were born in the Dream, will be setting foot in the Waking World for the first time.
“Shana?” Annabelle asked, giving Shana’s hand a squeeze.
“Oh, I’m all right,” Shana said. “Just… thinking about the future. But come on, let’s go get some food.”
That suggestion was met with a chorus of enthusiastic agreement, and so they all left the bedroom and headed down to the nearest dining room. But on the way, they ran into Maxwell and Tock, who immediately sought their attention.
“Oh, you’re awake!” Tock said, hurrying over to Shana. “This is perfect timing. We were just getting ready to leave again, but if you could help us, then —”
“We should probably explain from earlier,” Maxwell said, clearing his throat. “First, you should see your sister.”
“Fae’s here?” Shana asked. “Or is it Delilah?”
“Delilah,” Tock said, “and Alice. Come on! They’re asleep, but they could wake up any minute.”
Asleep?
Following after the pair, Shana couldn’t help but worry that something had gone terribly wrong. Her fears were only intensified when she was brought into the infirmary to find Delilah and Alice resting in bed. Delilah’s closed eyes looked somewhat pained, and on her left cheek was a strange, foreboding mark, a grey smudge almost like a fingerprint, but it sent a chill down Shana’s spine.
“What happened to them?” she asked, leaning over Delilah and looking her all over. “Are they okay?”
“The unconsciousness is due largely to acute exhaustion,” said Terevalde, who Shana hadn’t even realized was in the room, along with Emmeryn, Marcus, Maribelle, and Isabelle. They all looked a bit the worse for wear as well, with somewhat ragged clothing, and a few small, nearly-fresh cuts marked the faces of Marcus and Maribelle. “They went through… something. We still don’t know the details. We won’t, until they awaken.”
“But you were with them, right?” Shana asked. A gentle hand — Shias’ hand — on her arm let her know that she was panicking, and she fought to calm herself.
“We were separated,” Maribelle said bitterly, staring at the floor. Beside her, Isabelle shivered, clutching tight to her, barely acknowledging the arrival of Annabelle, who came and stood beside her in silent solidarity. “Delilah and Alice were on their own, and even Solla and Lunos couldn’t find them. We thought we’d run into the worst trouble when we ended up in a Location on the verge of being consumed by Darkness, barely making it out alive, but… they were all alone. For whatever it was they faced.”
“We only found them thanks to Alexandra’s knowledge,” Maxwell said. “We got to them just in time. Which also means, well… we didn’t see any of what they went through. Only where they were.”
“Follstavh,” Emmeryn said. “The City of Fire. A land of trials, testing, and judgment.”
“They’re going to be okay, aren’t they?” Shana asked.
“Physically, they will heal,” Marcus said. “But we won’t know what their minds or hearts need to recover from until after they wake and tell us what happened.”
“And unfortunately… we can’t let you stay and watch over her,” Tock said, looking at Shana apologetically.
“Why not?” Shana asked, her voice coming out sharper than she’d intended.
“Caleb, Chelsea — everyone still in Grimoire — they are in grave danger,” Maxwell said. “And if we’re to succeed in our current plan — the best plan we have for saving us all from the Endless Night — then we need to go get some of them out of Grimoire. But they’re not going to come just for us.”
“They need to see one of Caleb’s siblings,” Tock said. “We went looking for Delilah because Alexandra thought it would be her, but she’s in no shape to come with us right now. Thankfully we did look for her, though, or she might never have made it back, but… we need you, Shana.”
“But I…” Shana started, staring.
“I’ll go,” Shias said.
“You’re sure?” Tock asked.
“Alexandra thought it should be a sister, but…” Maxwell started, musing for a moment.
“I can convince Caleb of what needs to be done,” Shias said, endlessly calm. “And you can explain things to me on the way there.” He shot a glance at Shana, just a glance, but it said so many words to her. Words that he spared her from being said aloud.
“I’m in a better headspace than you for handling this right now. And if I go, that means you can stay here and watch over Delilah, without needing to worry about anyone else.”
He was right. Shana felt slightly guilty, but more relieved and grateful. She hugged Shias tight, her face against his, and said softly in his ear, “Thank you.”
The only problem now was that Shana didn’t want to let go. She hated saying goodbye to anyone, but to Shias most of all. Every time they’d parted, it had always lasted far too long. And she never felt right when he wasn’t with her.
“I’m coming right back,” Shias said, a warm smile in his voice. Shana nodded, but still didn’t let go. Not just yet. She counted to ten, silently, then squeezed Shias extra tight…
And let go.
Shias said quick farewells to the others, and then left with Maxwell and Tock. Shana took a seat right at Delilah’s bedside, watching over her.
Annabelle and Isabelle came to her. Standing on either side of her, they each took one of Shana’s hands in her own.
Together, they watched, and waited.
——
“It’s a script.”
Fae stared at the contents of the book, taking in what she was seeing. It was for a musical — “Reverie of Reflection” — and was split into two acts. There were sections of spoken dialogue, so it wasn’t a sung-through musical, and there were stage directions, notes about props and costuming, but…
There were also large, noticeable blank sections.
“It’s not even complete,” Mercury said, clearly torn between excitement and disappointment.
“Perhaps…” Sonya started, turning a few pages and looking over what she saw, “perhaps that’s the point.”
“What kind of point?” Jupiter asked, sitting cross-legged on the floor across from Fae. Core bobbed in the air above her head, making soft little noises of interest and curiosity.
“The show isn’t fully set in stone,” Sonya said. A bit of excitement eked into her voice, a little warm tickle that rippled outward through the seven-part bond. “We’re given room to complete the script ourselves. Look.” She flipped ahead to the ending, which had two entire empty pages before a single word: “Fin”
“We get to write the ending,” Mercury said, disappointment swiftly chased away by growing excitement.
“And much more,” Sonya said.
Fae looked up at Madeline, their gazes locking in a knowing look. “That’s what your message in a bottle was all about,” Fae said. “The path to the Key of the World, the Key through the glass, is in Revue Palace — on a stage. This play… it’s our finale. The last part of our journey.”
“Now we really need to hustle over to Revue Palace,” Jupiter said. “We’ve got a whole play to plan, and finish writing, and rehearse!”
“It’s a musical,” Mercury said. “But yeah. We’ve got our work cut out for us, here. We can’t just launch into the show with an unfinished script and not a single rehearsal under our belts.”
“Then let’s hope this musical pathway takes us where we need to go,” Neptune said. Olivia joined her, raising her viola.
“Oh snap, we’re going,” Jupiter said, scrambling to her feet. The rest of them stood as well, Fae closing the book but not putting it back in her bag. The lock didn’t reappear — the book was unlocked for good, now, ready to be read, and written into, whenever she desired. But she wanted to keep it close regardless.
Finale. This is the end. The final task for us to complete.
After that… I wonder what comes next? There’s still more to do, even after the Key of the World is turned and the Endless Night is prevented.
I have to eventually get cured, if Margot is able to do that.
And then there’s the Palette in the Clouds. I’ll need Shana’s help to get back there, but I’m supposed to help guide them back to the Waking World. Olivia, Sonya, and me. For some reason, we’re their hope.
And in that hope, Fae found hope for herself. “Finale” had such a feeling of, well, finality to it. Like turning the Key of the World was the end of the story, then the curtains would be drawn, and…
Nothing else.
But knowing there was more that needed to be done gave Fae hope. Hope that her finale wasn’t the end of her journey. It was a finale for her. And the finale for the quest of the Key of the World.
But it wouldn’t be the end of the story.