Stefan opened his wings and admired his new skin, in complete shock. He couldn’t believe he was alive.
Alexei’s beak was hanging open. “Delmare, how did you do that?”
“Milonna said the crystals have healing powers,” Delmare said in a shaky voice. “I don’t know where it came from, but I heard a voice inside... I always prayed to Neva, the goddess of time, and worshiped her. I knew I’d pick her as my goddess for my Choosing someday. I’d never heard her before, but at that moment, it was like I could hear her talking to me, telling me to use the blade. I knew it was crazy, but it was my only shot.”
“You love me!” Stefan bounced on the spot, shaking the ground. In moments, he’d transformed into a man. He picked Delmare up and kissed her, in front of the gods and everybody.
Delmare blushed when he put her down, but she didn’t pull away. She placed his hands on his chest and said, “You only had to die to get me to admit it.”
“It was worth it,” he replied. Stefan sank to one knee, taking Delmare’s hand in his. “Irena, my beauty, would you do me the honor of becoming my mate?”
He proclaimed the words wholeheartedly, though the whole performance was a bit over the top. Delmare rolled her eyes and yanked on his arm, letting out a laugh. “Gods, get off the ground. Of course I will. Don’t have much of a choice now, do I?”
Stefan beamed, and kissed Delmare again. Odette let out a whistle, while Theo nickered in amusement and Ethan laughed under his breath.
It was only now Stefan realized he was in his human form— he looked at the other three Companions and said, “Shit. I might’ve gotten carried away.”
“Now who’s horny?” Alexei teased. Stefan sent him the finger.
Delmare giggled and mouthed at me that Stefan was rocking a hard on. I wiggled my eyebrows and made a hand gesture— she put a hand over her mouth to keep from busting out laughing.
“This is all so wonderful!” Odette sighed in a romantic way. “Delmare and Stefan, finally mates. We should throw a party!”
“Excellent idea, but the party should be back home,” Kiara suggested. “Delmare, do you have any ideas? You used the blade.”
Delmare frowned. “I don’t know. Ask Emma. She’s the portalist.”
Delmare handed me the dagger. I turned it in my hands and observed it, noticing how the ruby sparked in the light.
“I think... the Crystals of Harmony are illusion magic, and illusion magic is intention,” I said. “So if I ask the crystal to take us home, and use it to create a portal, the magic should work.”
“There should be an incantation for it,” Kiara said. “We had to cast one to get here.”
“If there is, we don’t have the book to translate it,” I said. “I’m not sure what to do.”
“Write your own, Emma,” Ethan said. “You’re the Worldweaver, the bridge between this universe and our own. As long as the intention is true, the crystal should be able to harness enough power.”
Ethan was right, but I’d had no experience writing my own spells before. I worried it wouldn’t work.
Well, first time for everything. I chewed on my lip, trying to conceive the proper incantation. It had to be clear. If it wasn’t, the dragon stone could deposit us who knew where. Possibly a universe without oxygen. It’d be something I would do.
Yet the spell also had to be similar to the one that got us here. This was complicated magic. It took me a few moments, but I think I got the words right.
I closed my eyes as I grasped the dagger in my hand, putting all my might into the intention of the spell. “Fae of old and fae of new, take me back to what once I knew.”
I opened my eyes as the ruby began burning against my hand. Flowing from the stone was a wispy whirlwind, which expanded in front of us to create a spinning portal— one large enough for all of us to walk through at once.
My gut knotted nervously. The portal was red, like the ruby. We couldn’t see what lied beyond.
Theo stomped his hooves. “You sure about this, Emma?”
“No,” I said as I placed the dagger into my bag. “But what choice do we have?”
I pulled myself onto Ethan’s back and threaded my hands into his soft fur, holding on tight. Ethan crouched. He shook his tail as he said,