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I was suddenly finding it incredibly difficult to meet his eyes, so I turned to Crispin instead. “What now”“

“Just like last time,” he said, “but without Elena to go knocking things around.”

I placed one hand on Sebastian’s chest, still not meeting his eyes. I could feel the warmth of his skin, the beat of his heart, and underneath that, the dark pulse of his magic. But it didn’t call to mine. Not yet.

“Dear Eva,” Crispin tsked. “You know better than that.”

I sighed. I did know better. I was just hoping that for once, things could be easy and not horribly embarrassing. I lifted my eyes to Sebastian’s, my lips parting slightly at his expression. I had expected mocking, or irritation, but there was something else. Something that I didn’t understand at all, other than the fact that it made my cheeks burn, and made my core flare with a pulse of tingling warmth.

My hand on his chest began to glow dark red and purple.

“Very good.” Crispin beamed at us. “Now focus on the portal. See if you can sense it, and feel the energy of where it leads.”

“I don’t know how to do that.” The magical glow around my hand on Sebastian dimmed with my words.

Crispin stepped closer. Ringo watched us with wideshining eyes from his shoulder. “You know how to do this, Eva,” Crispin soothed. “It’s in your blood.”

Sebastian waited for me to meet his eyes again before he spoke, “It’s not much more than stepping across a barrier. Attune your energy to that of the adjacent realm.”

“That’s not what I do when I step across a barrier.”

“It is, you just don’t realize that’s what you’re doing.” I opened my mouth to argue, and he sighed, his familiar irritation returning. “Justtry, Eva.”

“Fine.” I stepped closer, keeping my hand pressed against his chest.

I could sense Gabriel at my back, and Seraphina beyond him. And I could sense Crispin standing even closer. And… I inhaled sharply. Maybe Icouldsense the nearby portal. It felt similar to Seraphina’s energy, but undiluted.

I closed my eyes, trying to do what Sebastian had instructed. Trying toattunemyself, though I still wasn’t sure exactly what that meant.

Everything else faded away, until all I could feel was the portal, and distantly Sebastian’s heartbeat beneath my palm. I wasn’t sure what I was doing, but my focus seemed to be increasing the magic, which had to be what we wanted.

I hoped.

The other option was that I was just going to alert every nymph beyond the portal that someone was trying to break in.

“Um, Eva?” Crispin’s tone gave me pause.

I started to pull my hand away from Sebastian, but he gripped my fingers, keeping me against him. “Just open your eyes.”

I did as he asked, though I felt strange and far away, and way too in tune with the energy of the portal. I realized the space Seraphina had outlined was now glowing blue. We were lucky it was after dark, and the only things that might be in the trees around us were other magical beings. Humans knew the danger and would only come during the day.

“Can we just step through now?” I gasped.

“I think so.” Crispin stepped a little closer, but didn’t touch us. He looked back at Seraphina, who gave him a hesitant nod, her features rimmed with a blue glow.

Keeping my hand pressed against him, Sebastian edged us toward the portal. The magic increased, and it felt as if the very blood in my veins was glowing that same blue, matching the magical energy. Maybe that really was how I crossed boundaries—matching my energy to the realm beyond.

“Does it seem to be getting brighter?” Crispin asked.

Before I could verify his concerns, the portal swelled outward in a bright flash of light, surrounding the three of us. On instinct I grabbed Crispin’s hand, then we all shifted together, leaving the park behind.

15

Sebastian and Crispinboth held on to me as I lurched forward onto a smooth dirt path. Lush grass edged the dirt, swaying with an unfelt breeze. It was night here too, at least I was pretty sure it was night. High overhead, an archway of interlocking trees and vines completely sealed us in. Like Seraphina had predicted, there were no guards to greet us. Strangers never came through their portal.

Finally regaining my equilibrium, I put my hands on my hips, glaring at Crispin with Ringo still on his shoulder. “You weren’t supposed to come!”

He crossed his arms and lowered his chin. “I’m not the one who made the portal explode outward to swallow us.” He smiled then, looking around. “Although I do appreciate you grabbing on so I didn’t get tossed somewhere else. I don’t think any of us would have made it here if we weren’t touching you.”