CHAPTER 828: 828-THE BLACK PEARL

Helanie:

We hugged for a few more seconds before breaking apart, because someone still hadn’t said a word. All of us turned to look at Emmet. He scratched the back of his neck, his face full of pain.

"Who are you?" he whispered, stepping back and glancing at us nervously.

"Shit," Norman muttered, rushing toward him. Emmet bolted, running farther and farther away.

"Shit, shit, shit," Kaye hissed, sprinting after them. Then he stopped suddenly, turned, and ran back to me. He cupped my face in his hands.

"I need to take you home," he said, nodding.

He couldn’t quite meet my eyes, guilt written all over him. I grabbed his jacket, pulled myself up, and kissed his lips to show him I wasn’t angry.

The fact that he’d broken the hypnotism and freed himself from the curse was a huge success. A siren’s hypnotism is not easy to break, and I was proud of him.

"No, you have to go help your brother find Emmet," I told him, gently pushing him away.

That’s when my friends started to appear.

"Oh my Goddess, Helanie!" Lamar and Jenny rushed toward me. Sage and Penn followed, then Lucy and Gavin. I realized they must have come into the woods to find us. Their swords were bloodied, which meant they’d been fighting the Zharns along the way. That explained why none of the Zharns had shown up in the well area. My friends had cleared them out.

"Kaye, I have my friends with me. You just need to go find Emmet," I insisted, pushing him back again.

He looked around at everyone, who seemed suspicious of him at first, until they noticed he didn’t look dangerous anymore. They realized he’d broken free from the hypnotism.

"Okay, but please take her home," Kaye told Lamar. His words came out more like an order than a request. Then he sped off after Emmet.

I turned back to my friends, and they hugged me one by one.

"What’s going on? Why are they running after Emmet?" Lucy asked. She looked pale, not at all how she’d looked when she woke up, and I wondered what was happening to her.

"Lucy, are you okay?" I asked, grabbing her hand. Her skin was burning hot. Was she running a fever?

"Yeah, it’s just that I keep mixing up my memories with the entity’s, because she lived my life too. I’m trying to piece everything together, but it’s so hard to keep track," she babbled quickly. Gavin watched her with deep concern.

"Wait, how are you that pregnant?" Jenny blurted, pointing at my belly.

"Do you not remember what Norman said? Her pregnancy would be quick," Lamar reminded her. I realized he hadn’t just said that to convince Kaye. It was true.

"Yeah, but that quick?" Jenny muttered.

Even I was shocked. I’d wanted to break the curses first, then give birth so I could at least enjoy the pregnancy. It might sound strange, but I’d hoped to spend the rest of those months in peace. That had been the plan. But now, I didn’t think I had much time left.

"Why are they running after Emmet? You didn’t answer," Sage pressed, stepping forward and gently placing her hand on my shoulder.

"Because Kaye freed himself from his curse. Now the poison is in the air, and everyone’s curses are unraveling. Emmet is in critical condition," I said, realizing that even if my mom asked someone to give up their tail, it would already be too late. We needed to help Emmet right away.

"Can anyone tell me if you have any information on Maximus? Where did he go?" I asked, watching all their faces.

"We were in a separate car," Sage said.

However, it seemed like Gavin had something to add.

"Yeah, but when we got out of the car together, I had a word with Emmet." Gavin paused.

He took a deep breath and held my hand. "He got out of the car with Emmet after he transitioned." As soon as he said it, I felt like the whole world collapsed around me. I wasn’t supposed to let Maximus transition into his lycan state, because this time he would never return. The fact that it happened meant we were already too late. I covered my face with my hands as tears spilled out.

"Helanie, you’re not in a state to be emotional right now. Let’s take you home first. Maybe Norman and Kaye already have Emmet, and once they tie him in the basement, they’ll go after Maximus," Sage said, trying to comfort me.

But no words could help, because I didn’t even know how I could save either of them. And then there was Norman. I didn’t even know what kind of curse he carried, or what it would do to him.

My eyes caught something shining near the well. I frowned and pulled away from the others.

"Helanie, listen," Lamar urged, probably thinking I was losing my mind and trying to run. But I was only walking toward the shining object to see what it was.

When I reached it, my eyes widened. I turned to my friends, and they rushed to follow my gaze. Together we stared down at it, hope stirring again.

"What is it?" Sage whispered, clearly wondering what this thing was doing here.

I broke into a wide smile. "Kesha. Kesha died. It’s a pearl from her tail."

Lamar crouched quickly, picked it up, and handed it to me. I grinned as I held the black pearl in my hand.

"Do you think it’s safe to open a dreamland with a siren’s pearl?" Lucy asked.

Honestly, I wondered the same. I had talked to my mother about it, but she’d never told me what exactly a siren’s pearl could do. All I knew was that her pearl would be stronger, able to hold more people for longer. What else it might bring, I needed to ask her. But at least it could open the door to another realm where Emmet would be safe.

"Help me get home. We need to start preparing for Emmet’s arrival right away," I said. Everyone nodded.

I held the pearl and started walking, but then Lamar scooped me up in his arms. I understood they were worried about me. He carried me to the main mansion, and thankfully, the others weren’t around. By others, I meant Jessica, Charlotte, and Azura.