CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

Winter

"Winter!" Alec drops next to me, his arms going around my shoulders.

My mouth falls open, but I don't know what to say. I can't process what just happened.

Elena betrayed us.

"Are you okay?" Alec holds me closer.

"I'm fine." I draw back and look up at him. "Are you?"

"Yeah." He nods, his gaze raking across my face.

"I didn't mean to kill her," I find myself saying.

He shakes his head. "You had to. She wasn't going to let us take her captive." His eyes soften. "You did what you had to do to protect us. To protect yourself. That doesn't make it easy, but it does make it right."

I let out a shaky breath, the reality of the situation finally starting to sink in. We're in a dangerous world, one that requires strength and sacrifice. And I'm not sure if I'm ready for it.

"Come on." Alec stands up, offering me a hand.

I take his hand, letting him help me to my feet, my mind racing with questions and doubts. Will I ever be able to come to terms with what I've done? And what kind of person am I becoming in this world of magic and danger?

Elena wasn't the first person I've seen die. This week has been full of things I hoped to never see in my life.

This was so similar to losing Professor Trowles, though. I liked Elena. Trusted her.

And that was my mistake. It was too easy for her to win me over. I should have been more cautious, like Alec. Even when Damon saw her push Hank, I still didn't want to believe it.

"Damon," I gasp.

I look up the stairs to where Damon was lying, but he's not there. Instead, he's standing on the platform in his human form, gazing in amazement at the Golden Coin.

I freeze. Is he ...

My heart races. Is Damon planning on betraying us too? On grabbing the coin, jumping out of here, and leaving us behind?

My mouth goes dry. I don't know if I should say something or act like I suspect nothing.

Damon's attention turns to us. "You guys all right?"

"Yeah." Alec's voice is tight, and I can tell he's also unsure about what Damon will do next.

Damon walks down the stairs to join us. "We made it."

I sigh in relief. He's not going to leave us here after all.

"Some of us made it," I say.

He looks down. "I'm sorry I didn't pick up on her deceit sooner."

"She was a good faker," Alec says.

Damon grimaces. "And Hank?"

We look at each other. "We might never know," I say. "We might not even know if they were working for themselves or someone else."

"Like Silver Hunters," Alec adds.

Damon's lips draw thin. "I'm sorry. I was supposed to be your guard here, and I brought you right to them."

"No." I touch his shoulder. "It wasn't your fault."

Alec's attention is on the coin. "How do we know this is the real deal?"

Damon perks up. "I don't know. I've never seen a fake. It's just like my dad described it, though. It glows, like there's light coming from inside of it. And it also has some ancient language written on it. Like nothing I've seen."

His excitement is contagious. If Damon thinks this coin is the real deal, I'm inclined to side with him. It sounds like his dad was as close as an expert on the coin as possible.

I nod, feeling a sense of awe wash over me. It's hard to believe that we've been through so much just to get our hands on this small thing that can fit in the palm of my hand. And yet, it feels like it's worth everything we've gone through.

It will transport us out of this pocket dimension. It will grant us the strength we need to take back our school and save our classmates and teachers.

"Let's take a look at it," I say, walking up to the platform, the two of them following close behind.

The Golden Coin gleams in the light, its intricate carvings and designs catching my eye.

I reach out to touch it, but Damon pulls it away. "Be careful. We don't know what kind of power it holds."

He's right. I take a step back, giving Damon and Alec some space to examine the coin.

As they study it, my mind wanders back to Elena and Hank. I know there probably wasn't another way. Alec is right, and I did what I needed to. Elena's betrayal and both of their deaths lay over me like a heavy blanket, though. I can't think straight.

I shake my head, trying to clear the thoughts. There's no use dwelling on what's already happened. We have to focus on what's next.

"We need to get out of here," I say, breaking the silence.

Alec nods. "Agreed. But how do we use the coin? Damon, do you know?"

Damon shakes his head. "My dad never told me how to use it. All I know is that it's supposed to transport us out of here."

"Well, let's give it a try," I say, feeling a rush of adrenaline.

I circle the coin, which, like the one above the well, is just floating there. "I wonder what the inscriptions on it say."

"Your guess is as good as mine," Damon answers.

I keep studying the coin. My dad, wherever it is he astral projected from, knew the coin would be in here. He also knew how to get the tower's door to open.

But how?

If he knew where the coin was, why didn't he just come for it himself a long time ago?

Alec is muttering something to himself, and I look over at him, standing on the other side of the platform. "What?"

Damon snaps his fingers. "A sacrifice. That's what you said, right?" he asks Alec.

Alec nods. "The old man in the lighthouse talked about it."

Damon nods. "He said the same thing to me too."

A sacrifice? I don't like the sound of that.

"What kind of sacrifice?" I ask, my heart racing.

Damon's eyes are distant. "He didn't say. Just that we needed to make one."

I gulp. I don't know if I'm ready to make any kind of sacrifice.

Alec is frowning. "We don't even know what kind of sacrifice he meant."

Damon shrugs. "It could be anything. A life, a possession, a memory ..."

My mind races, trying to think of what I would be willing to sacrifice to get out of here. I want to save my friends and my school, but at what cost?

"I don't know what kind of sacrifice we need to make," I say slowly. "But I know that I'm not willing to sacrifice any of us. We need to stick together, no matter what."

Damon looks at us, his expression serious but resolute. "I agree."

I frown again at the coin. "Hold on. I think ... I think I know this language."

"What?" Alec comes around to my side and inspects the part of the coin I'm looking at. "What is it?"

I shake my head. "I don't know, but it ... it feels so familiar."

Damon's eyes widen. "Do you think you can translate it?"

I nod. "I think so."

I close my eyes, letting the inscriptions on the coin float to the front of my mind. It's like trying to remember a dream or a long-forgotten memory. The more I concentrate, the more the inscriptions come into focus.

"It's a spell," I say, opening my eyes. "It's a teleportation spell."

Alec looks at me in disbelief. “How do you know that?”

I shake my head. “I–I don’t know. I can read it, though.”

Is this another power that I have? One that pops up only when I need it?

I chew my lip. "It's ... it's a spell that can teleport us out of here."

Damon's face breaks into a grin. "Just like we thought it would be!"

My heart races with excitement. We finally have a way out of this pocket dimension. "But we need to be careful."

Alec nods in agreement. "Right. We need to make sure we use the spell correctly to avoid any mishaps. Does it say anything else?"

I walk around to the other side of the coin and read the rest of the inscription. Or, rather, let it sink into my consciousness. The translation floats to the front of my mind, like someone has dropped the words into my head.

"It says ... we need to be willing to give up something in return for the use of the spell," I say slowly, still processing the information. "Something of equal value."

"There's that sacrifice again," Damon mutters.

"Also ..." I shake my head, unsure about this next part. The words are getting fuzzy in my head. I can barely make them out.

"The first to touch the coin ..." I frown. "Makes the ... no, wait ... is the sacrifice."

My heart nearly stops.

"What do you mean?" Damon asks, his expression turning serious.

I take a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. "The first person to touch the coin will be the sacrifice. It's like ... an exchange. The spell requires a life in return."

Silence falls over us, the weight of the revelation pressing down on us like a physical force.

This can't be. How could whoever put the coin here expect such a thing out of us? And what if only one person was standing here? How would that work?

"No." I shake my head. "This can't be right."

Alec is staring at me. "And yet you just read it."

"I could have mistranslated it," I nearly shout at him.

He doesn't so much as blink. "You know how powerful you are. Every day you're discovering new things you can do. You might doubt yourself, but I don't. I trust you."

Tears collect in my eyes. "We're not sacrificing any of us."

"I'll do it." Damon steps forward.

"What?" I gasp. "No!"

"It only makes sense. You two have to save Hawthorn. Beat the Silver Hunters. Lives are depending on you. Me? I already achieved what I came here for. I found the Golden Coin. I fulfilled my dad's biggest dream. I can die happy."

Tears spill down my cheeks. I've only known Damon a short while, but I already know how big his heart is, how great of a person he is. I won't let him do this.

"We'll find another way," I say.

"What other way?"

"We ... I'll ..." I work my mouth around, but I don't have an answer.

"I'll do it," Alec says.

"What?" I blurt out. "Alec, what the hell?" I grab at the roots of my hair. "Are we just trying to have a competition here? To see who's the bravest?"

"Alec ..." Damon shakes his head.

My heart thrashes around in my chest. This is so insane.

But as I look into Alec's eyes, I see an unwavering determination. "I want to do this," he says firmly. "I want to help save our friends and our school. I'm willing to make this sacrifice. Besides ..." His brow furrows. "You can do this without me. You can take the coin and—"

"No, I can't." I grab his hand. "And I can't believe either one of you are talking about—"

"I'm dangerous. You know I am."

Tears stream down my face. "We already talked about this! Neither one of us is perfectly safe. It doesn't matter! We were meant to meet."

"I know." He reaches up and touches my face. "And maybe it all comes down to this. Maybe I'm the one meant to make this sacrifice."

I try to speak, but only angry sobs come out. I'm furious. Crushed.

I won't let him do this.

Even if it means that I'm the one who sacrifices myself.

Alec steps forward, reaching for the coin, but I block him. "Are you serious?" I snap.

"More serious than I've ever been about anything." He grabs my shoulders and looks me in the eye. "Winter, I—"

"Uh, guys," Damon says.

Alec licks his lips. "You are too important to me. I can't let anything happen to you."

"You guys," Damon says, louder this time.

I look at him over Alec's shoulder. "What?"

"Someone is here."

It takes a second for me to actually process what he's saying. Someone? Who is someone?

"A few people, actually." Damon looks worried. "Five ... six. They just entered the tower."

Alec's face pales, and he whirls around and strides to the edge of the platform. From the way he goes quiet, I know it's bad news.

Abandoning the coin for the time being, I rush over to the platform's edge. What I see on the ground floor makes me want to vomit.

"Oh, no," I breathe. "Silver Hunters."