“Well,” Teddy said, turning me around to face him. “Let’s go see it.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “Right now?”
“Hell yeah, right now.” He was smiling from ear to ear. “I know how to do transportation magic and we’ve got this hotel room for the weekend. Nobody will even know we’re gone.”
I stared at him, dumbfounded. “You can do transportation magic? To Greece?”
“I’m the top of my class, remember?” Teddy’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Long-distance teleportation is advanced, but I’ve been able to do it for years thanks to private tutors. I can get us there.”
My heart raced at the thought of seeing the Aegean again. I figured I wouldn’t see it again until after Widdershins. “But... we’d need passports, and?—”
“We’re not going through customs,” Teddy laughed. “We’re just popping in for a quick visit. It’ll be like we were never there.”
The idea was reckless, impulsive, and exactly what I needed. “You’re serious?”
“Completely.” His hands moved to cup my face, and the tenderness in his touch made my chest ache. “I want to see the place that matters to you. I want to see the real you, Nerion.”
I should have said no. Should have maintained that careful distance I’d been trying to keep between us. But the thought of swimming in those waters again, of showing Teddy that part of myself...
“Okay,” I whispered. “Let’s do it.”
Teddy’s face lit up with a smile so bright it was almost blinding. He pulled away and began clearing a space in the middle of the hotel room, pushing the coffee table aside.
“We’ll need to be touching for this to work,” he explained, his voice taking on that confident tone he got whenever he talked about magic. “And I need to visualize the destination. Is there a specific beach or cove you have in mind?”
I closed my eyes, letting the memories wash over me. “There’s a small cove near Mikonos. It’s hidden between two cliffs, with white sand and crystal clear water. My parents used to take me there because it’s so secluded.”
“Perfect,” Teddy said. “Can you picture it clearly? The more details, the better.”
I nodded, the image vivid in my mind. The way the morning sun hit the water, turning it a dozen shades of blue. The smell of salt and wild herbs growing on the cliffside. The smooth pebbles mixed with sand beneath my feet.
“I need to draw the sigils,” Teddy said, taking a pen from the hotel desk. He began sketching intricate patterns on his palms, his brow furrowed in concentration. “This will anchor us to both locations so we can get back.”
I watched, fascinated, as the marks began to glow faintly on his skin. Witches had always amazed me with their methodical approach to magic. So different from the wild, innate power that flowed through those of us of a more monstrous nature.
“Ready?” he asked, holding out his hands to me.
I placed my palms against his, feeling the warm buzz of magic between us. “Ready.”
“Close your eyes and focus on that cove,” Teddy instructed. “Think about every detail you can remember. Picture it clearly in your mind.”
I did as he asked, concentrating on the memory of that perfect hidden beach. Teddy began murmuring words in alanguage I didn’t understand, his voice growing stronger with each syllable. The air around us seemed to thicken, pressure building like we were sinking deeper and deeper underwater.
Then came the sensation of being pulled in every direction at once. My stomach lurched, and for a moment, I felt like I was floating in nothingness, untethered from reality.
Just when I thought I couldn’t stand it anymore, solid ground appeared beneath my feet. Warm air caressed my skin, and the unmistakable scent of the Mediterranean filled my lungs.
I opened my eyes and gasped.
We were standing on the very beach I’d pictured, the one I hadn’t seen in nearly a decade. The early morning sun blazed overhead, though it had been nearly one in the morning back in Boston just a moment ago. The sea stretched before us, a perfect canvas of blues and greens just like I remembered it.
“Holy shit,” I breathed. “You actually did it.”
Teddy looked a little pale, but he was smiling triumphantly. “Told you I could.”
I turned in a slow circle, taking in the familiar cliffs, the hidden entrance to the cove that kept it private from passing boats. It was exactly as I remembered, preserved in time like a perfect snapshot.
“This is incredible,” Teddy said, stepping toward the water’s edge. “It’s so clear I can see straight to the bottom.”