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I slept at Tess’ house on Friday night to further the ruse with my mom that I would be going along with Tess and her family for the campus tour. On Saturday morning Nik picked us up with Puck already riding shotgun, and we took off towards the meadow. Towards the portal that would bring us to Siraleth. Would Fletcher be following us again, like he was last time? I hoped we were able to slip off unnoticed, the last thing we needed was Fletcher following us around all weekend. The whole point of this trip was to avoid him. I left the grimoire safely tucked away in my dresser drawer. The only people who knew I had it were Tess and Nik, and I wanted to keep it that way.

Tess was just as confused as I was the first time I had arrived at the meadow to find it largely empty with nothing but a serene lake and the pine trees surrounding us. She, too, could sense the energy radiating out of this place, as if it were a beacon to fellow witches. Nik showed us to the portal and Tess and Puck went through first, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Nik took my hand as we stepped through the portal, and just like last time, stepped into nothingness.

Siraleth was different from the last time I had seen it. We had come on an unseasonably warm winter day and the sun had been shining bright and high in the sky. Before I conjured the storm, that is. Today, Siraleth was covered by thick and angry clouds that threatened to burst open and soak us in a deluge of rain at any moment. Normally I would be tempted to try to shield us with my storm magic like an umbrella, but I knew that I couldn’t touch my magic at all on this trip.

Tess and I weren’t sure exactly what to bring, so we had stuck with jeans, t-shirts, and thermals for the most part. Nik and Puck donned their standard issue black jeans and leather jackets. I couldn’t help but wonder if we would stick out like a sore thumb in Prins. What did the people there dress like? Istmere was another realm entirely, they didn’t have the same stores that we did. I imagined they had quaint little shops with tailors where they could get their blouses and dresses custom made, but I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. There was no cell service, no cars, no modern technology at all.

I had noticed an array of weapons in the packs Nik and Puck had brought with us, and wondered if they were expecting to run into any trouble. Nik had packed the light broadsword with the scabbard that he had let me use the other day, and I wondered if maybe we would have time to do some more sword training while we were here.

We started off towards the ruins of Siraleth, checking behind us frequently to ensure nobody followed us through the portal. We walked the cobblestone streets through the dense fog that had descended upon the fallen city’s center, keeping close to one another. We passed the familiar cottage Nik and I had visited last week, and continued on through the city until we reached what appeared to be the edge of the city of Siraleth. Nothing stood before us but snow-capped mountains and vast, grassy, landscape.

“From here, we keep walking across the plains,” Nik started, “we could have portaled directly into Prins, but that portal is being monitored. I didn’t want to draw any attention to us as we traveled through.”

“Good idea.” Puck confirmed with a nod. “It isn’t too much farther, only a few miles. The cities are fairly close together by your world’s standards. Of course, you do have cars…”

“Hopefully this rain holds off,” I peered up at the sky, watching the angry clouds move swiftly across the plains, “I didn’t bring a raincoat.”

“We will have to change once we get there, anyway. To blend in more,” Nik replied, gesturing towards his outfit. “Some people dress like this in Prins, but we want to stay completely off the radar if possible. Best to completely blend in.”

Just as I had suspected. “But we packed clothes, what will we wear?”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.” Puck’s hand moved to my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “We have to blend in with the other witches. Nik and I were raised in Istmere, but you guys will stick out like a sore thumb.”

What would it have been like if I had been raised in Istmere, too? Would I have full control of my powers by now? How powerful would I be? I couldn’t help but wonder if Jake was a witch too, and if my parents had known about this side of my life and never told me. It felt like a betrayal, to be so enthralled with and drawn to the supernatural all my life, but to be kept from it. Only to find out it was a part of me all along, and it always had been. Would I have gone to a school here in Istmere? Would I still be planning to go to college? If I had been raised here, my life would be completely different.

“We will have to travel through The Shadow to get to the pub and inn. It’s a seedy part of town, and we’ll need to stay close together or someone will try to sell you a potion that will turn you into a frog,” Nik interrupted my thoughts.

“A what?”

“Magic can be…tricky. We have to be careful in The Shadow. There might be witches there who can sense your Stormshade energy, though they’re uncommon. We will have to do our best to mask it, and make it through unnoticed,” he replied.

“But on the bright side, if you ever want to shrink yourself down to the size of a lime, or find someone to sell you a brew that’ll erase your most embarrassing memories, The Shadow is the place to do it.” Puck laughed.

“The bright side?” I asked, raising a brow at him.

“I think I’ll pass,” Tess chimed in, giving me a wide-eyed glare.

Be careful in The Shadow. Got it.

“Will we run into any of your friends while we are here?” I asked.

Nik and Puck exchanged a glance before replying, “Probably,” in unison. I wondered if they had the same bad boy reputation here as they did back in our realm.

We walked for what felt like hours in silent anticipation. My mind was reeling with thoughts of what Prins would be like and who we would meet there. We eventually came upon two large stone columns that stood about twenty feet apart from each other. The towers were so tall that their spires disappeared up into the growing fog and the angry clouds above.

“This marks the formal entrance to Prins. From here on out, stay close,” Nik told us as he pulled us to the side of one of the pillars. He opened his pack, shucking off his leather jacket and stuffing it inside.

“Take these,” he said, offering Tess and I both a thick swath of black fabric that we quickly unfolded.

“Acloak?” I asked.

“We need to blend in. So yes, a cloak. Put it on, and fasten it,” he replied. We did as we were told, and the cloak was large enough that it almost swallowed me entirely. It hid my arms and legs with only the toes of my sneakers peeking out at the bottom. The hood safely hid my red hair within its silhouette, and someone would need to be standing close to me in order to see my face beneath it. I guess the cloakwasa good idea, to keep us inconspicuous.

Nik looked as if he was born to wear his, only the tiniest wisp of his blond hair sneaking out at the top of his hood. You could still see his muscled frame and his cloak only fell to his calves. These cloaks must be his, I realized.

“I need to scout, give me a minute.” Nik turned and grabbed the pillar as if it was the trunk of a tree. With remarkable agility, he ascended the pillar as if he were climbing a rope, and disappeared into the fog.

Puck saw the expression on my face and turned to me. “Not all those tattoos are for show, you know. Some of them are spells. They give him extra strength, speed, and better eyesight.”