Page 56

“You can open your eyes, little witch,” he says into my ear, over the roar of the wind. “I won’t let you fall.”

That’s true enough, and this flight is much less precarious than the last one we took around this mountain. I feel safe, well, at least as safe as anyone could feel in the arms of a demon flying hundreds of feet in the air, and I crack my eyes open.

The demon realm is even more beautiful this morning than it was that first night.

By night it was regal and mysterious, by day it’s absolutely overwhelming. High, jagged peaks stretch along the horizon, cutting fierce blades into the clear blue sky. Below, the rich green of thick pine forests stretches out along the valley, with a cobalt river running through the very center. As we continue on, a few alpine lakes show themselves in hidden crags, sparkling brightly in the morning sun.

The entire landscape is like something out of the most beautiful mountain range in the human realm, amplified by a power of ten. Even with the lingering twinge of bitter magick, another sort of power is also all too clear here. A wildness, an untamed spirit of this realm racing past us as Eren flies into lower elevations.

I hold him tighter as he descends toward a soft meadow a little way down into the foothills. The clearing is ringed by forest and has a small, placid lake in its center. It’s a beautiful place, a serene one, and my breath catches a little in my throat as Eren lowers us toward the ground.

When we touch down, he doesn’t set me on my feet right away.

“Was that alright?” he asks.

I nod, and he loosens his grip, not letting me go completely until I’m steady.

“Where are we?”

Around us, the mountain meadow sways with soft green grasses and wildflowers. A sloping hill leads down to the lake we flew over, and behind us, the forest rings the entire space in a dark spruce curtain. I’m so consumed with taking it all in that it takes me a second to catch up when Eren answers me.

“It’s a spot my parents used to bring me to when I was young.”

I glance over and find him looking out across the meadow as well, eyes distant with memory.

“It’s beautiful,” I tell him, reaching down to squeeze his hand. “Can we walk down to the lake?”

He nods, and we set off. As we walk, he tells me about the picnics he used to have here with his mother and father; the afternoons spent with other children of the court running and playing and diving for shiny rocks in the lake.

“It doesn’t sound all that different from a human childhood,” I say with a smile as we reach the shore.

Bending over, I touch my fingertips to the water and find it freezing cold. Wincing, I look up and find Eren grinning at me.

“I have no idea how you swam in that.”

“It’s warmer in the summer,” he says. “And demons run a bit hotter than humans.”

I’m about to give him some sass in response to that when he claims my hand again.

“Come on. I have a surprise for you.”

I let him lead me a little ways down the shore. The soft grass brushes against my legs and the scents of lake water and warm spring air settle into my lungs.

After a few minutes, Eren pauses, releases my hand and takes a few steps away from me.

“Wait here?” he asks.

I nod, and before I have time to blink, he’s gone. There’s no crack of lighting or flare of light to mark his leaving, just a slight, shimmering mist that dissolves him entirely.

“Eren?” I ask uncertainly to the spot he’s just disappeared, like he might still be able to hear me.

Unsurprisingly, I get no answer. A few seconds turns into a minute, and then two. Despite the beautiful day and the serenity of the surrounding scenery, I feel the first faint flicker of fear.

Almost as soon as the feeling creeps in, the air shimmers again. A split-second later, Eren reappears holding a large woven basket in one hand.

I just stare at him, slack-jawed. “What was that?”

“A portal?”