"I need Tristan," I said, knowing they'd never agree to let me see Brenon or Evangeline.

The Evils looked at each other, then back to me. "Why?"

"I'm still new to this, and I don't know how to channel the Dark Fae magic I have. He'll help me."

"Tristan was helping the Circus," Pearl said.

"Only because he wanted some land in exchange. He's only loyal to himself. You know that."

They were silent for a moment. Then, finally, Mercy gave me a little shove. "Fine, but only Tristan. If you try to involve that Ringmaster, we start killing people."

Not waiting for them to change their mind, I took the steps two at a time to get out of the dark and creepy basement, beelining it for the front door.

To my surprise, Brenon, Evangeline, and Tristan were still standing in front of the house. They hadn't even tried to hide.

At the sight of me at the doorway, all three of them ran to the base of the stairs.

"Stop." I held my hand out in front of me. "Just Tristan."

I looked over at Brenon nodded at him. "It's going to be okay."

He took a few steps back and inclined his head.

Tristan looked over at the others before walking up the steps. "What's this all about?"

I closed the door behind us, not wanting Brenon or Evangeline to hear what I was going to say. The last thing I needed was for them to do something that might get them killed. "The twins aren't Sayges."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Hello, Tristan, been a long time," Mercy said.

Tristan's whole body tensed when he saw the Evils in their true form. "How did you get out? You were trapped."

"That doesn't matter right now. You help us, and we'll all be back home. We'll have eternity to discuss how we've wronged each other."

"Why would I help you?" Tristan's words came out like a growl.

"Your child is the one who volunteered you. She seems to think you can be bought." The Evils both laughed. "How's that for irony?"

"They should never have let you into the Dark Realm," Tristan said.

"Tick-tock, Ara," Pearl said.

Tristan opened his mouth to say something, but I put my hand on his arm, and he turned to look at me.

"Please, I need your help." Turning from Tristan, I looked at the Evils. "Can we have a few minutes alone?"

"Take all the time you need," Pearl said. "It's not my friend's lives on the line."

As soon as the two of them left the room, I dragged Tristan to the love seat and pulled him down. "I need your help."

"Why did you involve me with this? What are you thinking? Letting them in without Terra or Brenon to keep them in check is worse than death," he said.

I lowered my voice, hoping the creatures couldn't hear me, "Tell me what would happen if I opened the gate."

"If everyone is cursed again, those things will head right for the Dark Realm, where they'll find my family - our family, and wreak havoc on a level you can't even imagine." He shook his head.

"No, you misunderstand. What would happen if I opened the gate without casting the curse?"

Tristan's lips curled into a sly smile. "Then you'd see true power."

"Would it be enough to defeat them?" I asked.

"You get any of the High Fae or me through that gate, the Evils won't know what hit them." He leaned in closer to me. "You sure you're willing to do this? You have to use blood magic."

"Is there any other way?" I asked.

Tristan was quiet for a moment, then he reached down and lifted his pant leg. Strapped to his calf was a small dagger with a black sheath covering the blade. He handed it to me. "We'll need to make it look good. They'll be expecting a show."

He pulled the sheath off of the blade. "Fae Iron. It'll hurt like hell, and you'll probably be passed out for a few hours, but they'll buy it."

Carefully, he slid the sheath back over the blade, then held it out for me.

Swallowing against the lump in my throat, I took the blade. "Let's do this."

Tristan followed me to the kitchen, where we found the Evils sitting at the table sipping coffee. It was a disturbing sight that might be enough to kick my coffee addiction.

"Ready?" Mercy asked.

"We need to do it at the gate," I said.

She narrowed her eyes and looked from me to Tristan.

"She has to channel both realms. It'll be stronger there," Tristan said.

I held up the dagger. "And I have to use blood magic."

"Fae Iron?" Pearl asked, straightening in her chair.

I nodded. "But I have a condition before I do this."

"You're not in the position to barter," Mercy said.

"If I have to poison myself with iron, I think I deserve something in return," I said, staring at Mercy.

She lifted an eyebrow. "Which is?"

"You save my aunt and Joe after I re-curse everyone. I don't know how long it will take me to recover from the iron. I don't want them to die because you're waiting for me to heal. You don't have to let them go, just don't let them die."

Mercy took another sip of her coffee, then set the cup down. "Fine."

* * *

I'd never been in the backyard at my aunt's house. The neat, green lawn stretched out behind the house before it was met by tall, untamed yellow grass.

"Keep that blade to yourself, now," Pearl said.

I turned to look at her, surprised by her worry. For a moment, I wondered if I should abandon my plan and just try to stab her with the blade. Then, I remembered there were two of them, and Mercy would be on me before I could remove the blade to try again.

"Where's the entrance?" I looked out into the swaying grass, expecting to see a glowing light or some indication of where I should be standing.

"Look down," Tristan said.

Following his suggestion, I looked at the green grass under my feet. A pink line of glowing light was right under me. I stepped back, realizing that there was a circle of light in the middle of the grass. Inside the circle was another circle and a series of symbols filled the gap between the two.

"The entrance is below?" Goosebumps rose on my skin as I imagined an underground world devoid of sunlight. I couldn't even stand cloudy days. How did the fae live like that?

"It doesn't go down. It's a whole different realm." Tristan walked over to me and placed his hands on my hips. "You'll want to stand in the middle." He guided me to the center of the circle, then backed away.

Unsure of exactly how I was going to do this, I unsheathed the blade and tossed the cover on the ground. Tristan, Mercy, and Pearl stood near the back door, eyes locked on me.

I turned away from them, but could still feel their stares on my back. If this didn't go as planned, if I couldn't get the gate to open, Mercy and Pearl would know that I'd lied to them. They would kill Aunt Kay and Joe. Then, who knows what other pain I'd have to endure while I was forced to watch my loved ones die. Even Tristan was weary of the Evils. There was zero room for error.

Gripping the hilt with both hands, I took a deep breath. I knew I'd have to channel the magic of both realms again. Last time, I'd used lightning and the rose. As soon as I started thinking about using my magic, I felt the tingle of electricity surge through my veins. It was coming faster every time I used it. The rose was harder to find, my earth magic wasn't as strong.

Dropping one hand from the blade, I reached out as if touching the petals of a flower and the scent of roses filled my nose. Inside, I was holding on with everything I had to keep both magics in place. They seemed to fight each other, not wanting to co-exist. Moving my hand toward the blade, I almost lost the feeling of the rose, and I had to stop and wait.

This time, I moved both hands, the hand with the blade and my free hand, slowly, while focusing on holding the magic of both realms. My insides were heating up as I maintained the competing magics. Sweat dripped down my face. The blade was right above my free hand. Breathing rapid, I let out a cry as I sliced the blade across my hand.

Searing pain shot through me as the blood pooled on the surface and it took every fiber of my being to keep the magic in place. Blood flowed from the wound, landing on my boots and the grass.

The pink lines burned white, and my whole body felt like it was on fire. Dropping the blade, I held my breath as I tried to hold on to the last remaining pieces of magic. Then, everything went black.

* * *

The world was a blur as I fought to open my eyes. I could feel cool grass under me and hear the sounds of grunts and screams. It sounded like a fight scene in a movie. It took a moment for me to realize that I was laying on the ground in my aunt's backyard.

As the world came into focus, I saw the dagger in front of me. Groggy and unbalanced, I crawled to it, wrapping my fingers around the hilt. I sat up and almost dropped the dagger as I stared at a silvery curtain cutting through the yellow grass about twenty feet away from me.

In front of the curtain, Tristan was facing off against one of the Evils. Brenon and Evangeline were attacking the other one. Light flew from the Fae as they struck the creatures, causing shrieks and inhuman growls.

Forcing myself to my feet, I staggered into the grass, dagger extended in front of me. Pausing for a moment, I looked at each fight, trying to determine where I could help best.

Just then, a bolt of light shot up into the sky, temporarily blinding me. When the darkness of the night returned, I blinked away the spots and noticed that Brenon and Evangeline were now free of their Evil. The two of them ran toward Tristan, and before I could even move any closer, another bolt of light filled the air.

The next thing I knew, the Evil was gone. I dropped the dagger and collapsed to my knees, feeling exhausted. How I'd even been moving was a mystery.

Brenon was at my side in a heartbeat, scooping me up in his arms. "Are you hurt?"

I leaned my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes. "I don't think so."

He kissed my forehead. "Rest."

* * *

I woke up in the pink bedroom at my aunt's house. Sunlight was pouring in through the sheer curtains. Turning over, I let out a groan. Every inch of my body hurt. Even my skin hurt.

Covering my face with my hands, I took a moment to reflect on how I'd gotten here. The last thing I remembered was Brenon holding me.

I dropped my hands. Had I actually opened the gates? I'd broken the curse, then I'd opened the gates. Now, I was in the pink room at my aunt's house.

Forcing my legs over the edge of the bed, I made my way to standing and stumbled to the door. "Hello? Aunt Kay? Joe? Brenon? Anyone?"

Joe's face appeared at the base of the steps. "Ara! Don't move. I'll help you down."

He ran up the stairs, then wrapped an arm around my waist. "Careful, careful."

"Hey, you were all tied up last I saw you," I said. "Should you be helping me?"

"That was a week ago, I've had time to heal."

"I've been out for a week?" I said.

"Iron poisoning," Aunt Kay said. She stood in the kitchen, a cup of coffee in hand. She set it on the table, then pulled out a chair. "Sit."

Joe helped me settle into the seat, and I pulled the cup closer to me. "Where is everyone? What happened after I opened the gates?"

Aunt Kay sat down next to me. "The Fae were able to go home. We've sealed them for now so they have time to clean up their realm. It could take a while before it's safe to open them."

They were gone. Just like that. A pang of sadness filled my chest. Brenon hadn't even said goodbye. I never got to have that talk with Tristan.

I took a sip of coffee to try to mask the tears that were welling up.

"Of course, you wake up after Kay forced me to take a shower."

My heart leaped. I knew that voice. It was etched into my soul. There was no stopping the tears as I jumped from the chair. Brenon's arms pulled me in close. He smelled like the overly-perfumed soap my aunt kept in her shower.

"You're still here," I said, stepping back so I could see his face. "I thought the Fae left."

"They did," he said.

"I don't understand." His face was blurred through my tears.

"Evangeline can handle things on that end. There was no way I was going to leave you." He pulled me in close again. It felt like home.