(Aileen's POV)
I don't know if we're really going to make it.
The Mountain Gnomes' gargoyles are far more savage than ours. Their commanders ride them without a trace of mercy. Fearless. Ruthless. Wielding monstrous war hammers and wicked spiked maces.
Nalar and Inmus are holding them off with everything they have...
But they're exhausted.
I can see it.
They can't keep this up much longer.
Wait...
What's happening?
Nalar is frantically waving her arms from Dineann's back.
"Watch out! Higher, Inmus! Climb!"
Oh no.
She's right.
Move, Inmus!
Move!
A massive clod of earth is hurtling toward him like a cannonball.
Please...
Please...
Please...
Yes!
He dodged it.
Barely.
What?
Another one.
And another.
How many are there—
Ten.
A hundred.
A thousand.
They're raining down on him. On his mother. On everyone.
It's like someone's playing target practice.
Even the Mountain Gnomes are being knocked out of the sky.
Wait...
Then—
"What's going on?!" Inmus shouts, barely avoiding another projectile.
"It's Fheall's counterrr-spell!" Grogher bellows from above. "The earrrth is rebelling! Too many opposing forrrces are colliding! Everrryone! Head for the mountains!"
He appears above them as if from nowhere.
High overhead, Sidae lets out a thunderous roar.
Dineann and Baineann answer at once.
The two dilophosaurs bank sharply...
...and race toward the mountains.
(Dorcha's POV)
My head feels like it's splitting apart.
What's the point of this war?
We're wasting precious time.
The Orcs' Secret. The Trolls' Secret.
Bring them together with the bracelet.
That's the only thing that matters.
Hercules and I dive straight at an orc.
He's raging...
Though I doubt he even knows why anymore.
Done.
Another head hits the ground.
I scan the battlefield for my next target—
...and my eyes catch what's unfolding across the plain and the mountain trails.
It's horrifying.
Heads—friend and foe alike—fall and roll across the earth like fruit shaken from a tree.
Elves.
Gnomes.
Plunging from the sky, their bodies smashing against the ground below.
Death cries.
Screams of pain.
Screams of terror.
Steel crashing against steel.
The whistle of blades.
The thunder of hammers and axes.
The Orcs and Trolls show no mercy.
Maybe Grogher and I were the only ones who truly understood what this battle would become before it even began.
I don't think anyone else was ready for this.
At least growing up under Bàistec turned out to be good for something.
It's as if nothing can reach me.
Nothing...
Except...
Aileen.
My love...
Will you ever come back to me?
I can't breathe.
The air feels like glass.
Enough.
This stupid war means nothing to me anymore.
I have to find the new Secrets.
Nothing else matters.
(Gamy's POV)
"We're close..." I whisper, hope flickering inside me.
Little Gaithy and I have hidden away in this cave, buying ourselves enough time to uncover where the Trolls' Secret and the Orcs' Secret are hidden.
"Look!"
Gaithy leans over the two bowls of water before us.
A sword.
A crown.
"Those are their Secrets?" she asks.
She sounds disappointed.
"Yes."
"Wonderful..." she mutters with a sigh. "Which means we'll never find them."
Huh?
Where did that come from?
"Why not?"
"Seriously? We're in the middle of a war! There are hundreds of swords like that out there. And the crown..." She grimaces. "That's obviously one of the queens'. Getting anywhere near either of them? No, thanks. I'd rather stay alive."
Oh...
So that's what she's thinking.
I smile patiently.
"Look closer at the sword. See the gem set into the hilt? That's no ordinary weapon."
"So? There are thousands of knights!"
"True. But we only have to look among the Orcs and the Trolls... and perhaps the Mountain Gnomes, just to be safe." I pause, then shake my head. "Actually, no. Not them. They're far too greedy. If they had that sword, they'd never give it back. No one would entrust one of the Secrets to them. So that leaves only the Orcs and the Trolls."
I grin.
"See? That narrows things down quite a bit."
"Hmm... what about the crown?"
"I'd bet anything it belongs to the Orc Queen. The Troll Queen has never been shown wearing a crown in any painting."
Gaithy's face goes pale.
"What is it? Scared?"
"No." She wrinkles her nose. "I was thinking about the smell."
We look at each other...
...and burst out laughing.
Now we just have to figure out how we're actually going to get our hands on them.
"Move! Now!!"
We whirl toward the cave entrance.
Fheall bursts through on Ceatha's back.
Gaithy and I are thrown sideways as Fheall rolls across the cave floor, intercepting a stream of sickly green light an instant before it reaches us.
She must have passed the Ancient Magic to one of the other two Knights of Light.
Otherwise, she couldn't possibly be here.
She springs back to her feet and charges onto the rocky ledge without missing a beat, her sword already flashing.
I cautiously peek outside.
She's fighting another gnome.
Ugly.
Hunchbacked.
Marvon.
The High Priest of the Mountain Gnomes.
Impossible not to recognize him.
His eyes glow yellow as he circles through the air like a bird of prey.
With incredible agility, Fheall vaults back onto Ceatha's back and launches herself at him.
Steel crashes against steel.
The two blades lock in midair, each refusing to yield.
They look so alike.
She's beautiful, but...
Their features are almost identical.
The same unwavering eyes.
The same light burning inside them.
Marvon lunges for the rocky ledge.
Fheall cuts him off.
"Leave them alone! They're just two girls! What do you want with them?"
He slowly turns toward her.
A cruel, mocking grin spreads across his face.
"Kill them."
Just two words.
Cold.
Calm.
My blood turns to ice.
Gaithy grabs my arm, trembling.
We back away until we're sure he can't see us.
Please...
Fheall...
Stop him.
"Traitor!" Fheall shouts. "You're no longer worthy of our people!"
Marvon throws back his head and laughs.
A deep...
Unsettling...
Echoing laugh.
"Do you really think so... little sister?"
Little sister...?
Wait.
The twins from the old legends...
Of course.
Centuries ago, a gnome betrayed his people, his family...
...and his twin sister...
...to follow Iarrthòir.
It's them.
Marvon.
And Fheall.
Neither Gaithy nor I can tear our eyes away.
It's unbelievable they're twins.
Yes, they look alike...
But Fheall is different.
Marvon moves like hatred itself has taken shape.
He doesn't just want victory.
He wants annihilation.
Anything.
Anyone.
Everything standing in his way.
(Fheall's POV)
Marvon's eyes...
I can hardly believe what's become of him.
What happened to my sweet little brother?
The kind, gentle, selfless boy I grew up with?
Who is this monster?
What changed him?
What could have turned him into—
(Gamy's POV)
No.
No, no, no, no!
Fheall!
You looked away!
Marvon—
Don't!
Don't you dare throw that curse at her!
I glance at Gaithy.
She nods.
A beam of deep violet light erupts from Marvon's hands.
It never reaches its target.
It slams into my rose-colored magic and Gaithy's blazing orange light.
The explosion is deafening.
The whole cave shudders.
Pebbles rain from the ceiling, scattering across the ground.
Neither of us moves.
(Fheall's POV)
You foolish old woman!
Is this really the time to lose your focus?
"Thank you, girls!"
Marvon isn't my brother anymore.
I have to accept that.
He's my enemy now.
The enemy.
One of the tightest knots in this entire war.
I have to stop him.
Now.
I begin the only incantation that can truly end this.
He looks at me.
Horror floods his face.
He knows.
"Twin... You wouldn't... No!"
It hurts...
I'm sorry, brother.
I can't stop.
I keep chanting.
Again.
Again...
Just a little longer...
Almost there...
Stronger.
Deeper.
More...
Goodbye...
My brother.
Marvon's eyes lock onto mine.
He condemns me.
Judges me.
Hates me.
His body goes rigid.
He topples backward...
...then drops into the empty air like a lifeless sack.
He falls.
My heart breaks with him.
My chest burns.
It tightens until I can barely breathe.
"Catch him, Ceatha!" I shout, vaulting onto his back.
I'm trying not to lose my mind.
Ceatha dives down the mountainside, catches Marvon gently in his jaws, then lays him on the ground in a quiet place, hidden from the battle.
I stay still for a moment.
The warmth of Ceatha's scales presses against my legs.
Holding me together.
Come on, old Fheall.
Get down.
Face what you've done.
I take one long breath...
...and climb off.
Lying there in the grass...
...he looks like a sleeping child.
I kneel beside him.
"If you can... forgive me, my brother..."
I look at him.
His eyes...
The yellow is fading.
Little by little, they're turning violet again.
Just like mine.
Now...
Without the rage.
Without the cruelty...
I can finally see him.
That scar.
The deep mark across his cheek.
But there are so many others...
Wounds I'd never seen before.
I pull him into my arms and rest his head in my lap.
My eyes drift to the grape-shaped birthmark on our necks...
The one we both carry.
I rock him gently...
...and break into desperate sobs.
Little brother...
Why?
Why...
Marvon...
Marvon...
Great Sage...
Please...
Take him into your care.
The world begins to spin.
The inhuman screams of battle reach me again.
The cries of the winged beasts.
I can't stay here much longer.
I brush my hand across his face...
...and close his eyes.
"Goodbye...
...little brother."
I look at him one last time.
Just...
A little longer.
Then our past crashes into me without warning.
I see us.
Two little gnomes laughing as we chased a ball across the fields.
Two teenagers teasing each other about our first loves while stealing Grandma Berta's sweets.
Two young adults fighting side by side...
In war.
In life.
Great Sage...
What have I done...?
Was there truly no other way?
My chest feels as though it's tearing apart.
I'll never find peace after this.
Never.
I look around helplessly.
"Help me, Ceatha... please. I need to find good ground for him. If nothing else... at least his burial... at least that... has to be worthy of him."
I bend down...
...and lift him into my arms.
My body feels stiff.
My heart...
Frozen.
Marvon...