Kneeling beside my lifeless body, my sister glanced at Rosalind, who seemed to be asleep among the vines, and then at me.
"Maybe we could give her Rosalind's life force, don't you think?" she suggested.
"That would be a good idea, so no one has to risk their life," approved Kat, who was still in shock.
I had assured her that Rosalind would not separate us, but fate had decided otherwise, and I was angry at myself for making a false promise.
"No, Rosalind's life force is negative and would corrupt her," refused Saul, who was examining me. "She could take the opportunity to make her as evil as she is."
My mom approached me again, with an idea in mind.
"I think Bloom can heal the wound with the Dragon Flame, and I'm willing to give my life force to save her," she affirmed firmly.
"Mom, you can't sacrifice your life like that, we all need you," my sister protested, afraid of losing her.
And she was right, I wouldn't trade my life for my mom's. I couldn't live without her, I'd rather she let me go.
"Farah...," Saul said reproachfully, placing his hand on her arm.
"Jade has to live, Saul, she's my daughter and she's only going to be seventeen," my mom insisted authoritatively, pulling away hostilely.
"You're right," my grandma acquiesced. "That's why I'll sacrifice myself in your place. I'm the eldest here, it's my turn."
No! Not her! I couldn't let her die in my place, she who had raised me and loved me all those years. She was the only vestige I had left of my childhood, I couldn't let her do that.
"I have an idea, everyone should give some of their strength to Bloom so that she can heal Jade as soon as possible," offered Aisha, stepping forward.
It was a simple idea that hadn't occurred to anyone before my roommate.
My mom nodded her head in agreement, and everyone put a hand on Bloom's back and shoulders, except Beatrix and Terra, who were watching Rosalind. The fire fairy placed both hands on my burn and focused. I saw the burn gradually subside and then disappear completely.
Suddenly, I opened my eyes, with eight faces staring at me, and they lit up as I woke up. I was back in my body, I was not in pain anywhere, I was alive!
"Honey! You're alive!" my mom exclaimed as she hugged me euphorically.
Tears were rolling down my cheeks as I was so moved to see her like this, who had suffered so much in the last few moments.
"I really thought we were losing you," added my grandma, who imitated my mom, while Saul was looking at us affectionately.
I enjoyed the moment, I could feel their heartbeats close to my chest, I was so happy to have them back, that they had not lost their lives for mine.
They made way for Bloom and the girls who were also eager to support me.
"We missed you," Musa admitted with a sad smile.
"Following Kat wasn't exactly a piece of cake, she was so upset when your link was lost," sighed Stella jokingly.
I glanced over my friend's shoulder: my Specialist was standing three metres away, waiting to be alone with me. She had felt me die, and she had found me, hoping to save my life.
"You were great against Rosalind," Aisha congratulated me. "Your wings appeared when you were in a coma, and you were able to take control of that shrew despite everything. Without you, we wouldn't have made it."
"I think everyone contributed to this success," I retorted with a smile.
My sister brought her face close to mine, as if trying to talk to me with some intimacy.
"I'm sorry for everything I put you through," she apologised, taking my hand. "I want you to know that you are my sister and always will be."
I saw my mom smile back, relieved that we were reconciled, and I placed a loving kiss on Bloom's forehead, holding no hard feelings.
I got up with her help and walked towards Kat, eager to meet her again.
"You don't know how pleased I am to see you again," she declared, before kissing my lips with fervour and love.
I held her close to my heart as our kiss grew more and more languid. She had taken her courage in both hands to come and find me, she was definitely my soul mate.
Our reunion was abruptly interrupted by my mom, who had received a message from Flora.
"Oh no! Ben is seriously injured, they need Beatrix, we have to go back to Alfea, he's in the dining hall!" she urged us, coming closer to Terra, worried.
Terra let out a frightened cry.
"Daddy! God, it's not true!" she cried in a muffled voice.
Rosalind woke up at that moment.
"It doesn't look like your dear Professor Harvey has much longer to go," she sneered. "Beatrix has been trained to be like an air fairy, not a witch."
My mom took a few steps towards her, her face impassive.
"You seem to be in no position to make that sort of remark."
"You don't know me, Rosalind, you don't know what I'm able to do, because I've never trusted you blindly," Beatrix added, glaring at her. "It's all over for you, you won't escape your fate."
The evil fairy smiled casually, as if she didn't care about her fate.
My mom signalled to Terra to untie the vines from the ground so that she could take her back to Alfea.
Thanks to our wings, we reached the castle more quickly; my mom had carried Saul while I had carried Kat, and Bloom had carried Rosalind with the help of Beatrix, who had used her levitation ability after electrocuting our enemy for the umpteenth time to keep her quiet.
Once we arrived, we made our way through the battlefield and the wounded to the storeroom next to the dining hall. Beatrix, my mom, Saul, Terra and Stella came into the room whereas Kat and my grandma returned to help our allies, leaving Aisha, Musa and me to watch Rosalind at the entrance to the storeroom.
"At last you're here!" exclaimed Flora, standing up in relief.
Beside Professor Harvey, the Queen was sobbing her heart out, holding his hand. Immediately, at the sight of her lifeless and pale dad, Terra rushed to him, while Stella was doing her best to bring some comfort to her mom.
"Dad!" screamed the earth fairy, running her fingers over his face in panic.
Her eyes, and those of our companions, fell on the massive bloody bandage covering his stomach.
"What happened?" my mom inquired, kneeling with Saul beside her friend.
"A-a witch ripped him open," the Queen stuttered, hiccupping.
"We've done our best to keep him alive and not in too much pain with a shot of morphine, but without a Blood Witch's intervention, he'll pass away," Flora explained.
"Beatrix has to try to save him, it's our only chance," asserted the Director of Specialists, looking serious.
The witch nodded and walked towards Terra's father, under Luna's desperate gaze. I've never seen her in such a condition, so pale, so sad and miserable. Her eyes were like two aquariums.
"Please, Beatrix, save him, I'm begging you," she pleaded in a plaintive voice, dabbing her tears with a handkerchief.
"I'll do my best to heal his wound, but he's lost a lot of blood, he'll need a blood transfusion," the teenager assured with determination.
"He has blood type AB+," Terra informed us.
"Great, Mum and I are O+," Stella retorted with a satisfied smile.
Beatrix nodded and knelt down beside the patient before placing her hands on his bandage. She closed her eyes and focused, wincing at the difficulty of the task. After a few seconds, she took the risk of removing the bandage in front of the professor's family, his friends and the Queen. He was too weak to come out of the coma, but I heard exclamations of amazement.
"It worked!" the Queen rejoiced, amazed by the result. "Thank you Beatrix! I will give him my blood."
"Okay, I'll go to the infirmary and get the stuff we need," decided Terra before leaving the room.
Aisha followed her lead:
"I'll come with you."
Luna hugged Beatrix gratefully, and Flora, my mom and Saul did the same.
"Well, I have to go and put an end to this war," she warned them before joining us.
As we turned to go back to the battlefield, two witches in their sixties were staring at us, arms folded.
"Is the Queen here?" the grey-haired one asked coldly.
"What do you want with her?" I replied in an even harsher tone, annoyed.
"We've got a lot of scores to settle," the blonde grumbled.
Bloom clenched her fists, her wings appearing on her back.
"You won't pass!"
"We won't let you attack anyone, you can be sure of that," Musa rebuffed them.
They came towards us, threatening.
"You will all pay for Aster Dell, the Queen first!" the grey one spat out.
Beatrix took a step towards them, more than a little furious, and they looked confused, as if they already knew her.
"Except that the fairies and the Specialists had nothing to do with the massacre, the only culprit was her."
Our friend pointed at the fainting prisoner with a dismissive gaze.
"Rosalind got rid of the civilians in order to kidnap me," she explained. "She needed to raise a young Blood Witch to be docile, obedient, and to help her in her quest for the power of the Dragon Flame, which you failed to obtain. I am that witch, and today we were able to stop Rosalind before it was too late."
"Nonsense! It's all lies to soften us up," growled the blonde, who was losing her patience. "You're a pathetic fairy like your mates !"
"I'm not a witch, am I?!" she shouted, out of her mind. "You'll see if I'm not a witch!"
Her screams had attracted the attention of my mom and our allies in the storeroom. She grabbed the first wounded person to come along, who had a gash on her cheek, and healed it instantly. The eyes of the two witches changed, as if they were stunned.
"Susy, she has Maïré's hair and eyes," whispered the salt-and-pepper haired one, troubled.
"Ava?" Susy called softly, moved.
Beatrix rolled her eyes like saucers, not understanding what was happening to her.
"I'm sorry, but I'm Beatrix," she answered.
"I'm Shanice, your aunt. My sister was murdered at Aster Dell, she had beautiful auburn hair like you, the same look, and above all, she had given birth to a little Ava, whose body was never found in the rubble," Susy's friend recounted.
"Okay," the girl nodded. "I told you the truth, Rosalind is the only one responsible, so you have to stop this war."
The two witches complied, and a few minutes later calm returned. My mom congratulated Beatrix on her bravery and we were joined by my grandma, Kat, Tecna, Sam, Sky, Ricki, Dane and Riven. After giving Musa a hug, Sam went to his dad's bedside who was having a blood transfusion from Luna thanks to Flora. Beatrix treated all the injured, including Dane, whom Riven had supported at all costs. Like Kat and me, Bloom and Sky fell into each other's arms, happy to be together again, in a peaceful atmosphere. They had so much to talk about. I made the decision not to sneak into their minds to give them some privacy. My grandma helped Flora, and Ricki and Tecna comforted Stella and her mom before the latter walked up to Shanice and Susy, accompanied by my mom and Saul.
"Rebuilding the school will take a long time," my mom told them curtly.
"We will help you," Susy promised. "We are responsible for this disaster, it's up to us to fix it. Besides, we could expand the school to accommodate the witches."
"Hmmm, why not, that would be a good idea, wouldn't it, Saul?"
"It would be a good way to create friendships between fairies and witches," he agreed.
Shanice turned to the evil fairy, who was snoring.
"What do you intend to do with... Rosalind?"
"We're going to lock her up, and forever this time," the Queen certified with authority. "No one will come to free her."
The two witches exchanged a brief glance.
"If you want to be sure, we'll take her with us, she'll be well guarded," offered Beatrix's aunt.
"And it won't be any fun for her," laughed Susy.
That was a good idea, at least we'd be rid of Rosalind forever, and considering what she'd done, the witches would never let her go. The Queen conferred with my mom and Saul before accepting her proposal.
Shanice put a hand on her niece's shoulder sympathetically.
"Are you coming home with us tonight?"
Our friend smiled embarrassedly at her, truly bothered to have to choose.
"No, not this time, I may still be needed, but I'll see you soon," she refused gently.
Her aunt hugged her tenderly before walking away from the castle with Susy, the other witches and wizards, and Rosalind strapped in.
"Well, I can assure you that I won't miss Rosalind," I sighed, dropping into a chair.
"All we need now is a good little Burned One," wryly said Sky, pleased to have his dad back.
In the storeroom, Terra and Sam were waiting for their own to wake up from his coma, the transfusion having ended.
To be continued...