I couldn’t accept that. No way. I’d seen the three celestials fight. They were strong. The darkbringers couldn’t have gotten the best of them—not unless . . . I thought about Captain Nulan, how the Lord of Shadows had somehow gifted her a sliver of his magic. Had he done the same with other darkbringers? I swiped angrily at the tears rolling down my cheeks. “If it’s all the same to you, we’d like to see for ourselves.”

I stepped forward, and the mermaids’ tails whipped from against the wall and formed a massive X across the entrance. The scales on their tails were made of teal and blue emeralds that pulsed against the gloom of the library beyond.

“Where are the other celestials?” Frankie asked. “Why haven’t they come to help?”

“This is one of many attacks on the human world, and the others are tending to them,” Pearl, the mermaid on the left, said. “Inside this library is a fracture between worlds that’s far worse than a tear in the veil. Not even a guardian in training such as yourself, Maya, can repair it. Soon the wound will grow beyond our walls, but we will hold it back as long as we can with the help of the three celestials inside.”

“Wait, they’re still alive?” I asked. “Shangó, Ogun, and Principal Ollie?”

“They are in a state between life and death,” Diamond answered after some consideration. “They are stopping the wound from spreading.”

“Let us go inside,” I insisted. “I might not be able to fix this wound, but we have to help the celestials.”

“It is our job to protect the students of Jackson Middle School, not let them walk into danger,” Pearl said, but she and her twin both looked conflicted about their choice.

“You said it already—it’s only a matter of time before the wound breaks through your defenses,” I said. “What happens when it does?”

“It will devour the school and continue to grow,” Diamond answered as she reached up to wipe a single tear from her bronze cheek.

“More reason to let us try now,” I said, tapping my foot impatiently.

The mermaids exchanged a glance before they turned back to us. “We sense great power and potential within you four children. Perhaps we should let you try, but it will pain us greatly if you do not return.”

Winston smoothed his hand across his chin. “That power you feel is mostly me.”

Ignoring him, I addressed Pearl and Diamond. “We know the risk.”

The twins hesitated a moment longer before their tails whipped from in front of the door, clearing the way for us to enter. I stepped forward on shaky legs.

A fresh batch of blue flames lit across Winston’s skin. “Are we sure about this?”

My staff glowed, encouraging me to be brave. “Sure as we’re going to get.”