it because she made a deal when she was trying to break the curse. The spirits would have claimed her soul had she failed to follow through on her end. We didn’t get to her in time to tell her not to give the Pole to them. This isn’t Cheney’s fault and it isn’t Selene’s fault either, but they’re setting things right,” Sebastian explained.
Jessica sighed. “I know that. That’s not what I meant. It just sucks.”
Katrina straightened her shoulders and closed her eyes for a moment before she opened them with more determination. “What about the dungeon for containing her?”
“It would prevent her from transporting, but that’s all. It isn’t warded for magic.”
“The pit is,” Sebastian said softly.
My heart clenched. When my father put Selene in the pit it almost killed her. The cruelty of throwing her back in there now was more than I could reconcile in my mind. I shook my head. “She’ll lose her mind.”
“She’s going to die eventually anyway,” Jessica said. “I mean that’s the plan, right? Contain her until she has the child and then kill her.”
“It’s cruel.” I wouldn’t do it. I couldn’t do it to her, no matter what happened. Letting her die quickly and painlessly was one thing. Making her suffer was another.
“The whole plan is cruel,” Katrina countered. “What’s to keep her from hurting the baby even if we do contain her? She will know why we are doing it, so basically it’s like she has a hostage.”
“What if she’s asleep?” Jessica said. “Like, in a coma?”
“Elves metabolize too fast. Human medication wouldn’t work on her and we don’t have anything that could be used to the same effect.”
“We’ll have to use magic,” Jessica said. “We just have to find a spell.”
“Like the Sleeping Beauty spell,” Katrina said.
Sebastian raised an eyebrow at me, but I had no clue what they were talking about either. “What’s the Sleeping Beauty spell?”
“You know. Like the cartoon. She pricks her finger on the spinning wheel then she falls asleep.”
“We could probably find a spinning wheel,” Sebastian said, still looking confused.
Katrina scrunched her nose and narrowed her eyes. “What? Why? We don’t need a spinning wheel. That’s just what happens in the cartoon—you know what. Never mind. I just meant there is a spell that can put someone to sleep. We just have to find it.”
“I don’t know that cartoons are the best source of information, Kat,” Jessica said.
Katrina rolled her eyes. “It’s based on a fairy tale, which, if I am not mistaken, are based on true stories that happened in the Abyss. Somewhere around here an evil fairy cast a spell on a princess, and when her true love kissed her, it brought her back to life. We just need to figure out who it was and what spell was used.”
My stomach sank. I knew exactly what she was talking about. “That wasn’t a spell,” I said.
Katrina tilted her head to the side. “You know the story? Great! That will save us time looking it up to see what was done.”
I shook my head again and glanced at Sebastian, who was white as an elverpige. “It was my sister, but she never awakened. She was cursed.”
“Oh.” Katrina’s eyes widened before her whole face dissolved into sympathy. “I’m so sorry.” She pressed her lips together. “But if your sister died, then it probably isn’t the spell I am looking for.”
My throat and my chest tightened just thinking about it. “She didn’t die. She laid there asleep waiting for the man she was going to run away with to kiss her and bring her back.”
Both girls stared at me.
“He was killed,” Sebastian said. “He couldn’t wake her because he was dead and we didn’t know about the curse to help her.”
“Oh Cheney, I’m so sorry.” Katrina hugged me tight.
“Not to be callus, but do you know the curse? It might be the best option to use for Selene. She wouldn’t suffer and she couldn’t hurt
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