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The man looked right at me and slid his gaze down before focusing on my junk. I shifted uncomfortably and moved my hands in front of me.
“Subtle.” Tyson snorted.
“I’d pay a lot to suck your dick, so would a lot of people,” the man said. He turned back to Jay. “Don’t let them shift. London’s a big city, supernatural trafficking is still a problem, and Club V has illegal portals for a reason.”
“They’re smarter than they look.” Jay gestured. “Just open the portal.”
I narrowed my eyes. That was it? No talking about our options or even details about what was coming next? This wasn’t our world; we needed Jay’s knowledge, but back in control, she was once again cutting us out.
The man sighed. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you…oh and if anyone hands you anything, don’t eat, drink, or snort it.” He turned to what I thought was an old barren stone wall and mumbled, tracing a pattern across its rough surface. The sound of rock grating against rock filled the room. Runes, outlined in florescent pink magic, emerged out of the wall. The man, er clearly mage’s voice, rose in volume until a swirl of pink snapped into place in front of us.
My heart raced in my chest. Everything happened so fast when I opened the last portal. I remembered some glowingfluorescent-green runes, but not the shimmering liquid waiting for us, just being sucked forward against my will.
Jay came to my side and laced our fingers together. I squeezed hers back.
“There are two types of portals in the world,” she explained. “This is a fixed portal, a mage…”
The man smirked. “Me.”
“…creates a fixed location and can connect to anyone else’s fixed location as long as the two give each other keys.” Jay pointed to the incredible number of runes etched in the circle on the wall, though only a fraction glowed. “Think of it like a massive rotary phone.” She made little half circles with her pointer finger. “The opposite of that, the most potent supernaturals can open portals at will and step to any location they can clearly picture in their minds. The portal at Scalehive was a fixed location, but it didn’t have a way to dial. Which means it only had one use.”
Jay’s gaze unfocused.
“Does that mean your ex is still on our island?” Lux asked.
Jay shrugged. “Probably. Unless he made another portal somewhere else, we need to check in with Oliviarose. This also explains how I got to the island. After my car accident, someone chucked me through.” Jay shook her head. “Which is neither here nor there.” She squeezed my hand again. “The point is, you opened something which wasn’t meant to open for you, and it was impressive, not something to be feared.”
Her words cut through my simmering anxiety, and my dragon preened. Even if I hadn’t meant to, I impressed my mate. Unlike my childhood, I controlled what happened to me. I took a deep breath and released it. I could do this.
Curiosity brightened the mage’s gaze, but Jay ignored him. Probably for the same reason we hadn’t even exchanged names. The less everyone knew, the better.
Jay released my hand. “We’re buddying up for this. Og, don’t leave Tyson’s side. Rehan, stick with Lux.”
Ogden’s shoulders dropped, and to my surprise, I found myself similarly disappointed in the pairings. I worked really well with Og, and I trusted him to be at my side. I barely knew Lux. The thought made me pause and study Jay again. A stupid smile came to my face. Clever girl.
“What about you?” Tyson asked Jay.
Jay grinned. “I’m front and center. You can still feel my location, right?”
I grunted, the others making similar noises of agreement. We would be hard-pressed to lose track of our mate when she was literally tethered to our souls.
“Thanks for the portal,” Jay said to the man, and without another word, she stepped forward, disappearing into the shimmering pink liquid.
I rushed after her before I lost my nerve. Despite looking like a liquid, the shimmering pink felt like a blanket of hot swirling air. Frayed bits of my pants and shirt floated, momentarily weightless, and then that feeling of my essence being pulled apart ripped into me, only to end as I stepped into a new world.
Literally.
The sheer volume hit me first, and my ears shrank like my dick in cold water. Although the lighting was dim in the massive square room, spotlights of all colors swirled and dappled a literal sea of humanity. Women and men shook and pounded their fists. It took me a moment to realize the shaking under my feet was in time with the bass of the music.
I turned. Scantily clad men and women danced on poles, in cages, and in the center of moon gates, much like the one I just came through. Each gate was fixed to a small platform, which had lights beaming off the surface, occasionally creating atexture that filled the center. If we hadn’t been coming out of it, on this side, the gate looked like the decorations.
Jay grabbed my arm, pulling me away from the portal just as Lux stepped through, Ogden hot on his heels. Tyson stumbled out last, his face going from ready to fight to a broad grin. Although I had no idea what was going on, Tyson obviously knew what this was and loved it.
We melted into the edges of the dancing masses. Jay wiggled her hips, seamlessly blending in with a group of women next to her. They swayed and jumped in their tight dresses, studded with hardware and cat ears. Wait. I looked closer. The women weren’t wearing cat ears. They had cat ears. It took me a moment, but half the people I saw had something inhuman about them. One man had blue-tinged skin. Another woman had two little horns poking out of her updo.
Jay came back into my view, twirling Lux and Ogden like they were princesses, and deposited them on either side of me. I exchanged a look with Tyson, both of us a head above most of the crowd. Instead of turning his nose up, as I expected, the fire prince dropped, twerking his hips.
I groaned. I seemed to be alone, looking out for danger.
