Closing my eyes, I pulled more power than I ever had before, filling myself to the brim. And then I realized even that wasn’t enough. Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the river of power that came from the Natural World.
“Emma!” I heard Lachlan gasp. “Don’t! No one has ever dared—”
“I dare,” I said. I held out my arms, making myself a conduit, and let the power gush through me, outward into both the Summer Court and the Winter Court at once.
The power did two things. First, it swept away the evil and madness of Mab’s long reign. Some of this was obvious—it crumbled the huge spider body and the rotten head, (which Bran had cut in two) into dust, and swept the dust away. It was almost like I had taken a high-powered water hose and was pressure washing the Winter Realm, ridding it of the filth and horror of years.
But some of the power’s actions were more subtle. With the grime and filth, went the haunted house feeling. The doom and gloom which had hung over the Winter Court were chased away like shadows when the light hits them head-on.
The second major thing the power did was make the Summer Court visible—at least to me. It felt like I was seeing the Courts overlap—one on top of the other. In both realities, (or dimensions) the three of us were standing in the banquet hall. But in the Winter Court, it was just Bran and Lachlan and me. In the Summer Court, I could see all the citizens of the Summer Court as well as my grandmother, Queen Elia, staring at me with wide eyes and an open mouth.
“Emma!” I heard her call me. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine, Grandmother,” I called back. “Everything is going to be all right now. Everything.”
And I meant it—I was going to make certain it was. I had the power to do what was needed for both Realms and I promised myself I wasn’t going to waste it.
The Winter Court and the Summer Court were going to be in harmony from now on. I would rule them both with both Bran and Lachlan at my side and I didn’t care what anybody thought about it.
Epilogue
“Emmers! I can’t believe you’re back!” Avery left the chicken he was roasting over the spit in the Norm Dorm’s fireplace and rushed over to give me a big hug.
“Emma is back?” Kaitlyn asked, popping her head out of the girl’s dorm. “Megan—Emma’s back!” she shouted, when she saw me standing there, grinning at her.
“Oh my God! Emma!” I heard Megan shout.
Then the three of them were hugging me at once and we were all laughing and crying and talking at the same time, as my Coven-mates asked me questions and I tried to answer.
Avery was the first one to get control.
“All right, all right,” he said, pulling back at last. “One question at a time! First of all, how are you even back here? We heard from Headmistress Nightworthy that the queen of the Summer Court had decided to keep you there.”
“She wanted to,” I said, lifting my chin. “But I told her I wanted to be with my Coven-mates—at least until I finish high school.”
Grandmother Elia hadn’t liked that one bit. But after the display of power I’d put on when I reunited the two Courts, she could hardly say “no” to me.
“Honestly, my dear, you’re too young to rule anyway,” she’d said with a sigh, when I let her know that I was going back to Nocturne Academy to finish my education. “I’ll hold the throne of the Summer Court for you until you’re ready to ascend to it. But you’ll have to appoint a regent to hold the Winter Court as well, you know,” she’d added. “I am not powerful enough to rule both—only you are, apparently.”
I hadn’t had to think very hard about that. Lachlan’s mother had agreed to hold the Winter Court throne for me until I was ready to rule. Though she was originally from the Summer Court, she had lived in the Winter Court for so long that she knew all the ins and outs of the Winter Realm. Also, I knew I could trust her. She was proud to have me as a daughter-in-law, even if she had to share that privilege with Bran’s mother.
Speaking of Bran’s family, Queen Elia had recalled them from exile and they were all in the Summer Court to greet us when we returned. Bran’s father begged his forgiveness and asked him to take back the family name and Bran graciously accepted.
I don’t know what they thought when they found out that Bran was going to be one of my consorts and that he was going to share that privilege with Lachlan, but Bran’s father simply nodded and didn’t say a word about it. Bran’s mother was much nicer. She seemed genuinely happy for us and I got the feeling that she would have liked to welcome Lachlan into their family earlier, only Bran’s father wouldn’t let her.