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“Let’s bring everyone back before we start sharing our discoveries,” Miles pressed, sounding annoyed. Clearly, I was a bit too harsh.
A light dusting of snow had covered the ground when I portaled Verla through from the Midnighter’s society. The vampires were spread all over the world, but Verla had been trying to get information from a group in Canada. The headmistress shivered when she stepped through the portal.
“Come,” Helena said quickly. “I made tea.”
“That’s so kind of you,” Verla said as Helena ushered her to the kitchen.
I couldn’t see what Celestial City looked like when I portaled Professor Warren back to the safe house. He was holed up in a nice hotel room, with white sheets and a golden bed frame. He seemed the coziest out of everyone. The angels weren’t the nicest supernatural race on the planet, but they’d pretty much do anything for you as long as they thought they could convert you to their religion, and Professor Warren was good at placating people.
“Good to see you, Lucas,” he said kindly.
I nodded back, then turned to Nadine. “Nad, I’ll need your help with this one.”
She stood at my side, and we combined our powers together to create a portal. It wasn’t easy, because we were fighting against wards to get inside the fae’s borders, but we managed. A forest appeared in front of us, but it was different from the last. The coniferous trees were smaller here, and it smelled of damp mountain air. The sky was overcast, and the ground was wet, as if it had just rained. Wind whistled through the portal, but everything else was silent. I didn’t see Grant or Talia anywhere.
I hesitated. “They’re supposed to be at the meeting point.”
“Give it a minute.” Nadine’s voice trembled. “They should be on their way.”
I held my breath, waiting to hear the sound of their footsteps through the mud. But there was nothing.
“Something’s wrong!” I insisted. “Grant and Talia have never missed a portal.”
“Are we sure about the coordinates?” Chloe asked. “This doesn’t look like where we’ve picked them up before.”
“I’m certain,” I stated. “Grant and Talia were meeting with a contact inside Malovia’s borders earlier today. We moved the meeting point so they didn’t have as far to travel.”
“Maybe they got lost?” Onyx suggested.
Miles crossed his arms. “Or they were betrayed. We shouldn’t have trusted the fae!”
The portal faltered around the edges, and my hands shook as I tried to steady it. “I can’t hold it much longer.”
“We have to go after them!” Nadine decided immediately. She ran toward the front door and grabbed our shoes and coats. She tossed mine at my feet, then slid hers on.
“You can’t go alone,” Professor Warren protested.
“The fewer witches we bring to Malovia, the better,” Nadine said. “We don’t want to draw attention, and Lucas and I can get in and out using portals. We’ll be back soon. I promise.”
Helena and Verla heard the commotion, and they raced into the living room. “What do you think you’re—?” Helena started, but I didn’t hear the end of it. I grabbed Nadine’s hand, and we leapt through the portal together.
My stomach dropped from my abdomen, and my body seemed to stretch and distort as we tumbled through the portal. We landed firmly on our feet on the other side, still holding hands. The air was chill and damp, and a shiver traveled down my spine as I glanced around. We stood on the side of a mountain, but we couldn’t see much through the pine forest except the darkened clouds covering the afternoon sky.
“We’ve got to find a vantage point,” Nadine said, tugging on my arm.
We traipsed through the forest, our feet squishing through the mud. The trees broke ahead, and when we stepped out of them, my stomach turned to a rock in my belly. Nadine drew a sharp gasp.
We stood on the highest point of a hill, looking out over a large battlefield. The battle had already been lost, judging by the bodies strewn across the muddy landscape. There had to be at least a hundred fae shifters and sorceresses lying down there. Fresh blood seeped into the ground as wolf, dragon, alicorn, and griffin shifters lay still beside their mates, who’d perished trying to save them.
Below us, a makeshift camp had been set up with large tents. Someone cried out in agony, their voice carrying up the hillside. On the other side of the battlefield, far out in the distance, we could make out the shadows of a small town.
Nadine covered her mouth. “What happened here? You don’t think Grant and Talia got caught up in it? The fae are known for taking hostages!”
I shook my head. I refused to believe that unless I saw it with my own eyes. “No. They wouldn’t involve themselves in fae affairs. Though this could certainly be why they were held up.”
Nadine’s eyes glistened. “So how do we find them?”
“We’re here!” a ragged voice came from behind us.
