“The forest took her,” Morgan adds.
“She paid for what she did to the hiisi, to Natalie and Hannah,” I say.
Caitlin’s face pinches with concern as she spins in a circle, scanning the trees.
“She won’t be back.” Don’t think I’ll ever be able to scrub the memory of those bloody branches from my mind.
“She’s dead?” Caitlin chokes out. “Are you sure?”
I nod and Morgan waves toward the trees where Emmi was taken. There are red smears on the bark. Caitlin says nothing after that, going back to Hannah, but I glance up and catch her giving me a dark and twisted look. It lasts a second at most, but it makes my insides tighten. Of course, she’s angry with me. I put Morgan in danger and it’s probably my fault Hannah got taken at the buck building too, since I was the one who suggested we sneak away, but—but nothing. I’m just exhausted. I curl tighter into Morgan, letting his warmth soak my side.
Joakim helps MacCrone, who’s far more concerned about Fiona than herself. The dragon seems fine, walking on four legs as mended by Aysha, and nuzzling MacCrone for blueberries. Mr. Fotsios drapes his coat over Sorin’s shoulders, who sits human and naked in the snow.
“Are you okay?” Morgan asks.
“I don’t think so. You?” My teeth are chattering, and I can’t feel my toes anymore.
“Not at all,” he says. “But we did it. We stopped a chaos mage. Well, you did.” A tentative smile quirks up his lips.
“Yeah, you were pretty amazing,” Katya says from where she’s sitting under a blanket with Aysha.
“Time to get moving.” Miss Kaneda directs parents and teachers out of the forest.
Eoin O’Connor carries Hannah, and Caitlin loops an arm around Aoife. Together, Morgan and I struggle to our feet. Aleksi, Joakim, Natalie’s moms, my parents, and a few others carry bodies wrapped in blankets.
Please let her be alive. Please please please! I hope the forest hears me and answers my plea one last time.
“Come on, let’s go home.” Toivo walks stiffly, clearly still in pain despite all healing attempts.
“I want a hot shower,” Aysha says.
“I want food. Like, all the food.” Katya looks as if she’s about to fall asleep on her feet.
“I’d kill for a cup of coffee,” Morgan says.
Together, we stagger away from the clearing, a slow procession of exhaustion and cautious optimism.
But… Five shards have been taken. The Order of Louhi has more than half of the Sampo. They won’t give up now, not when they’re so close to getting what they want.
As we leave the liminal realm and stumble back to the tonttukivi, Emmi’s words echo in my head. Despite our victory today, I know this isn’t over.
