It scares me, but I say it anyway. “Home.”
Fire flares in his eyes, there and gone so fast I’m not entirely sure I haven’t imagined it. His hand reaches out and twines with mine, his strong fingers squeezing like he’ll never let me go.
I squeeze back.
Together, we leave the woods behind.
We make for Caeldera.
For…home.
Chapter
Twenty-six
I stare dubiously at the arch of intertwined vines. Thick and covered in razor-sharp thorns, they defy the laws of nature, twisting up from the ground in two gnarled columns that curve to meet in the shape of a large doorway.
“Thisis a portal?”
“What were you expecting?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “Something a bit more maegical. This just looks like part of nature.”
“Maegic is part of nature.”
I fight off an eye roll. “You know what I mean. It doesn’t glow, doesn’t pulsate…It doesn’t do anything.”
“I assure you, it does.” He shoots me a bemused look. “Besides, portals are not designed to stand out to any common traveler on the road. Most folks are not even able to see them. They emit a glamour that keeps them hidden from all but those with strong fae blood. To a mortal, to most halflings, this place would appear as nothing more than an empty glade.”
I glance around the clearing. It is set at the very heart of the Forsaken Forest, where the trees are so wide around, it would take a dozen grown men with arms outstretched to encircle their trunks. The ground is thick with moss and ferns, a green carpetthat glows faintly beneath the press of each footstep. Thousands of fyrewisps drift in the air, twinkling like living stars until the first hint of dawn chases them away.
It had taken us hours of walking to reach the portal. The journey would have been much quicker with Onyx to carry us, but Penn said he would not risk bringing his stallion into the path of ice giants. Let alone any of his men.
“How does it work, exactly?” I examine the arched vines with sharper focus. A slight shimmer infuses the air of the entire glade but, other than that, I detect little in the way of power.
“The portals are like a network of doors, all connected. You step through one, exit through another.”
“That simple, huh?”
His lips twitch at my incredulity. “The trick is to stay focused on where you want to end up. Only attempt to travel between portals when you know their precise locations. Otherwise…you can get lost.”
“Lost where?”
“In between. Within the fabric.”
“That sounds less than ideal.” I narrow my eyes at him. “Why can’t we just go back to Caeldera on foot?”
“Besides the fact that these woods are rife with monsters…that would take more than a week’s time. Time we do not have. We’ve been away too long already. Fyremas is days away, and one of my most trusted lieutenants is about to become a father—”
“Oh!Carys!” My heart seizes with sudden guilt. I have all but forgotten my friend during the drama of the past few days. “She must be worried sick!”
Penn’s gaze sharpens at the familiarity in my tone, but he chooses not to comment on it. “All the more reason for us to get back as soon as possible. That means a portal. I assure you, it’s perfectly safe.”
“Unless you accidentally lose focus and wind up wandering the fabric of time and space for all eternity?”
“I’m certain you would find your way out eventually. There are plenty of exit points to choose from—even if you can’t be entirely sure where they’ll drop you.”
“How many portals are there?”