I found myself breathless as Harper and Caspian appeared first through the glittering white mist. They were joined by Shayla and Eli, and by Scarlett and Patrik. Scarlett held a baby in her arms, and I heard Yelena gasp next to me. We both recognized her almost instantly.
"Sophia!" we both said.
"Where's Fiona?!" Benedict asked, his eyes wide and frozen by fear.
Harper teared up, while Scarlett brought the baby to her grandparents. "I'm so sorry, Benedict… Yelena… Fiona is staying back with Zane."
"What?!" Yelena cried out. "No!"
"The hell she is!" Benedict growled, moving to go through the portal and drag Fiona back here, if he had to. Caspian and Patrik quickly blocked him.
"I'm sorry, you can't," Caspian said. "I'm truly sorry."
"We tried everything we could to convince them," Patrik added, while Benedict struggled to get past them.
"That's my daughter! No! I am not leaving her there, Zane be damned!"
"It was her choice," Harper said. "Zane couldn't be swayed, and Fiona loves him more than anything. She loves her people—"
"We're her people!" Yelena sobbed, as Scarlett carefully handed her the baby.
"The daemons are her people, too," Caspian said. "As much as we would all like it to be otherwise, it's the truth. The moment she married Zane, Fiona became their queen. And their king chose to stay with them until their last breath."
"He tried to get her to leave, though," Harper continued. "He did. He tried… but Fiona couldn't be swayed."
Yelena and Benedict were baffled, much like the rest of us. Zane and Fiona's decision had made Draven and the other Eritopian officers feel even worse—I didn't need sentry powers to tell. They looked downright awful, ashen, mere wisps of their former selves.
"This isn't happening," Yelena mumbled, staring at the sweet bundle in her arms. "Sophia… This… This isn't right."
The Stravian crew poured through the portal next, distracting us for long enough to remember that Taeral and his team were still on Strava, but Amane, Amal, Ridan, Douma, and Dmitri had returned to The Shade.
"Amane… What of Tae and his squad?" Kailani asked her first.
"We left them to their own devices. There wasn't much we could do for them, anyway," Amane said. "They have access to all our equipment and technology if they need it. When the evacuation order for GASP officers came through, Tae urged us all to go. They've got more Reapers on their side now, including two of the lost First Ten, as you know."
"Then they had better fix this!" Benedict shouted. "Because my baby chose to die on Neraka…"
He broke down, and Derek and Xavier were quick to pull him away from the portal and to comfort him as best as they could. At least Yelena was busy holding Sophia, but Benedict was impossible to console. He cried, and Derek hugged him tight, beckoning him to let it all out.
I had no idea where my strength came from, but I managed to keep a straight face as we welcomed more GASP agents back into the fold.
"For what it's worth, no one wants to be here right now," Amal said, loudly enough for Benedict and everyone else to hear her. "But we chose to be here because we want to protect The Shade and Earth's future, should the Hermessi complete the ritual. It does not make us cowards for leaving our people behind. The odds are not in their favor, and a good leader must be able to pick his battles. That being said, choosing to stay behind with one's people, whether by birth or by marriage, is not a mistake. They are all heroes, and, with a little bit of luck, we'll get to see them again soon enough, alive and well."
"And quite embarrassed," Hunter added.
It drew a few faded chuckles from the swelling crowd of GASP officers. Aisha moved closer to me. "The worst part is that we chose to keep the fae agents in the dark about this," she whispered. "Horatio and I had to literally sneak off the Fire Star."
"We couldn't risk bringing the fae in, regardless of their affiliation," Corrine interjected. "The Hermessi might use them as weapons."
"What about Sherus? He's already here!" Aisha said, pursing her lips.
"He's one. Imagine what Brendel would do with fifty or more in here," Corrine retorted. “I’ve put heavy protection on the glass house, nonetheless, having learned from our Crane incident. We’ll wait and see if they manage to use him in the Earthly Dimension before they come through themselves. Otherwise, he’ll just be part of the body count. One of the five million they need to hit in order to complete the ritual.”
“After Brendel killed him, she left,” I said. “Chances are they won’t be able to use him like they did Crane—though Crane was just a test run. There doesn’t need to be a Hermessi present to automatically take over the body, that’s not what that whole incident was about. With Crane, the Hermessi were just testing a preview of their power. Nevertheless, thank you, Corrine, for putting additional protection on the glass house.”
She nodded. “It’ll activate as soon as a Hermessi’s presence is felt inside. Either way, this whole thing sucks…”
"We will all have to live with it,” I said. “We just need to make sure we get to live."
The last batch of Calliope agents came through, and River was among them. I'd been so caught up with the influx from different planets that I'd failed to even notice that she hadn't come through with Draven and his group. She had, however, brought Phoenix and a cried-out Viola with her.
I hugged River first. "Your strength leaves me speechless, every time," I said to her.
"I'm sorry I was late," River replied, glancing back at Phoenix and Viola. "She had to say goodbye to her sisters. The Daughters chose to stay behind with the Eritopians."
Derek moved away from Benedict and Xavier and came to us, concern darkening his blue eyes. "Once the evacuation is complete—or once the ritual is, whichever may happen first—we'll have to seal and destroy the portal here," he said.
Corrine nodded. "Ibrahim and I are on it. We still have people coming in."
"I know," he replied.
"There is something else you should know," Amane said. "It might give you a bit of hope."
"What is it?" I asked.
"The Stravian Hermessi are against the ritual, and are thankful you saved their children," she said. "They, along with all the other elementals who oppose the ritual, will do everything in their power to defend the living from it."
I blinked several times, trying to wrap my head around her words. "Is that even possible?"
