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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

I rushed toward the portal, intending to push all the way through it this time. Instead, I rebounded hard and landed on my ass.

The portal no longer had any give and was a solid sheet of fog-filled glass.

Kicking off my heels, I stood again to the sound of Vivian’s distorted laughter.

He held up the rock he had taken back. “Without this, you’re stuck until your lovers come to open all the portals.”

I was terrified but also furious. Mostly with myself. I’d stupidly believed that Vivian hated Orphia enough not to help her open the portals, but failed to realize he’d want the same outcome on his own. What vampire wouldn’t want access to an all-you-can-eat human buffet?

“They’re smart enough to know that freeing me won’t save me once the portals are open,” I said hoarsely.

“Are you sure?”

He rolled the stone over his fingers, back and forth, teasing me with the solution to the problem he’d made. I needed that secondary key to my freedom. With it, the portals could stay safely closed. I just needed him to give it to me.

I hit the portal with the side of my fist this time, but the portal didn’t even react.

“So close, Everly. Just a little more,” he taunted.

We both knew that, no matter what I did, I couldn’t get to the stone. Fisting my hands at my sides, I glared at him.

“The fae and their trinkets,” he said as he continued to roll the flattened stone along his fingers. “Have you had enough of them yet? I heard you and Shepard played at Effora’s for hours the other day.”

My hate for Vivian climbed. For Effora, too, but she wasn’t here, rubbing what happened into my face.

“She’s desperate for Shepard to take her the way he took you. Aggressively. Deeply. From behind.”

I hit the portal with the flat of my hand like I was slapping Vivian’s face.

He laughed and moved closer. “That’s it. Embrace the fear and anger. Show me how you really feel.”

I realized that was my ticket to getting out. Vivian craved fear. It was his catnip. He’d said as much to me each time I’d encountered him. If I gave him enough of it, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from coming after me. Did I want to drive him crazy enough to pull me out of the portal? Not really. I knew what would happen next if he did. But I also knew that what would happen after the portals were unlocked would be much worse.

So I gave in to the fear and the anger just like he wanted and beat my hands on the portal while cursing at him.

Vivian laughed and turned to face the phone attached to the tripod. “Did you see the pretty ring she’s wearing, Shepard?”

I froze in disbelief. He was recording me. What had I done?

The phone hadn’t been there when he’d pushed me in. He must have set it up while I was distracted with the portal. He’d only needed a second.

“I know you won’t be able to resist saving your mate , so I’ll save you the hassle of trying to find her. Follow the GPS and claim your prize.”

I wailed, “No,” as he ended the video.

“Aw. That’s perfect. You’re a born actress,” he said as he sent the video. “Take a bow. Your performance is about to get a standing ovation. Once your boy toys get this video, they’ll rush in to save you. Don’t worry, my hemoglobin honey cake.”

“Why are you doing this?” My answer and frustration gave my voice some volume.

“Do you really have to ask? I thought you were smart, Everly.”

“Pretend I’m dumb.” I felt rather dumb at the moment. I was now trapped inside a portal. “Enlighten me.”

“So sweet that you want to understand my desires. It’s simple, my ambrosia artery. Revenge. You and your love nuggets killed the only man I loved.”

“He killed himself,” I said.

Vivian’s face transformed between one instant and the next. The web of black veining around his eyes almost reached his twisted mouth as he snarled, “He was given no other choice. Do you think your precious wolves would have let him live?”

They wouldn’t have.

Vivian calmed instantly, which was another layer of terrifying. He was not stable.

“I see the truth in your eyes,” he said. “You know I’m right.”

“Fine. You want revenge. Why the portal?”

“And ruin the surprise? Believe me, this is going to be a nightmare to remember.”

He made a video call on the tripod phone and withdrew another phone from his pocket to answer the call. When he did, his face showed on the tripod’s phone. He changed the view so I saw myself, milky and slightly distorted by the portal.

“It’s sad that now it’s your face I see when I answer his call.” He gently stroked the phone. “Is this called poetic justice? Summoning your lovers who killed my lover on his phone? I think so.” He placed a kiss on it before turning to me.

“Now we can keep in touch,” he said with a wicked grin. “I know you’ll miss me, but I’ll be back. It’s a promise.” He cocked his head to the side. “And I keep my promises, unlike other blood-sucking bitches.”

“Where are you going?” I yelled as he blurred out of sight.

His laughter echoed from the phone on the tripod, and I saw he was still watching me as he ran away.

So, I did what any rational person trapped in a fae portal by the vampire who wanted to kill her lovers would do. I flipped him off and turned around to look for a way out of the situation I was in.

Barefoot, I walked away from the portal, watching the ground and my surroundings. There wasn’t much to see. Just the indistinct purple-blue grass with small yellow flowers at my feet and the never-ending mist in the air.

Pausing, I glanced back and felt a moment of panic when I couldn’t see the portal. However, the path of yellow flowers led me back to where I’d come from like a yellow brick road. And I peered out of the portal one more time.

Vivian grinned when he saw me again. Rather than flip him off a second time, I hardened my resolve to keep searching. I retraced my steps on the same flower trail and kept going this time. Not long after, I saw another portal ahead.

No fog obscured the view through the second portal. I clearly saw the soft glow emitting from the pink flowers growing on the other side. I stared, mesmerized by their beauty and by the odd butterfly that fluttered toward it. The butterfly paused and turned toward me.

I screeched and tumbled back from the portal, falling on my ass then scrambling to my feet, only to trip again and sprawl face-first on the ground.

A fairy!

Briefly choking myself when my hand caught on my necklace as I pushed myself to my feet, I blindly ran away from what had been the most messed-up fairy I’d ever seen. I didn’t stop until I was winded. Unable to draw in enough air, I put my hands on my knees.

The multiple bruises on my throat made each gasping inhale burn, and bending over hurt my back where Vivian had pushed me into the car.

Why fairies , I inwardly whined.

Knowing I didn’t have time to feel sorry for myself, I straightened and turned away to retrace my steps and flinched.

An older woman stood behind me, her walking stick drawn back over her head. The shock of seeing someone blinded me to her intent until she swung at me. I dodged at the last second. The stick hit the ground and she pulled back for another swing as her gaze shot to mine.

My mouth dropped open in shock.

“Grandma Hunter?”

It was as if the woman had been ripped straight from my memories and planted here. Grey hair pulled back into a low bun, brown eyes like Vena’s, and a toned yet weathered and petite body. She hadn’t aged a day.

She paused with her walking stick ready.

“It’s me. Everly Reid, Vena’s friend.”

Grandma Hunter’s eyes went wide.

“Barnaby! It’s Everly!”

She dropped her walking stick and swept me up in a hard hug. I hugged her back just as hard, ignoring my aches in my shock that she was there.

“Is this real? Are you really here? How?” I asked, my voice still sounding hoarse.

She pulled back and cupped my face with her still strong hands, studying me as I studied her. How hadn’t she aged a day since I’d last seen her?

“You’ve matured so much. What happened to your neck?”

“It’s a long story, but I’m fine.”

She nodded as she released my face and took my hands.

“How much time has passed?” she asked.

“Ten years,” I said.

“Ten years.” Her happy expression turned worried then sad.

“Have you been here this whole time?” I asked.

“We have.” Grandpa Hunter appeared out of the mist, carrying their packs.

“You both look exactly the same,” I said.

Grandma shrugged. “We’re trapped in a limbo of sorts. It’s between Earth and the fae realm. Time doesn’t seem to exist in a space like this.”

“Look at how you’ve grown, Everly,” Grandpa said. “How is Vena? Is she still getting into trouble?”

I smiled and gently squeezed Grandma Hunter’s hands. “She’s well. Misses you terribly. She’s going to be so happy to see you again.”

The pair exchanged sad glances.

“Do you still have the rock with you?” Grandma Hunter asked. “The one they gave you to enter the portal?”

“No. A vampire tricked me and grabbed it before I understood it was the key to getting out of here. Please tell me you still have yours.”

“No, sweetheart. We broke ours as soon as we realized why she’d sent us in here."

“She? What happened?”

Grandma Hunter patted my arm and looked at her husband. “Barnaby, get out the chairs. Let’s sit down for a moment.”

He set the packs down and dug out a pair of collapsible camp chairs. Grandma sat with me while Grandpa sat on the packs.

“It’s best to start from the beginning. Ten years ago, we received a commission to find something for a private buyer.”

“An artifact that will pull a race into the veil?” I asked.

Surprise lit her expression. “How do you know? Please tell me they didn’t continue our search.”

“Sort of. A lot has happened since you went missing. Tell me what happened to you first, and I’ll catch you up with everything. But the abbreviated version, please. I don’t think we have a lot of time.”

They shared a worried glance.

“Well, we were hired to find a relic and were given a book that had some clues. We didn't think anything of it when the buyer contacted us a while later with another lead and asked to meet in person. We were out of leads of our own at that point.

“The meeting was at night. A vampire woman ambushed us before we even knew what happened.”

Grandma reached up and touched her neck as if she could still feel the bite. And when she did it, I saw the bite marks. They were still there. Fresh like they’d only happened hours ago.

“Once she had control of us, she brought us here, gave us the rune stones so we could enter, and told us to fetch the relic hidden in the veil. However, as soon as we entered, her thrall on us vanished.

“Barnaby and I remembered everything she’d said, though. She wanted to use the relic to send all the creatures back to the fae realm so the vampires could rule over the humans without interference. We knew we couldn’t allow that to happen, so we refused to get the relic she wanted.

“She left us here. But she returned later with more people. They weren’t thralled but bribed, which meant they were determined to bring the relic out. We broke their runes and ours so no one could leave.”

Understanding dawned.

“That’s why you asked if I had one.”

“You can’t leave with the relic, sweetheart. No matter what Orphia promised you, you can’t leave.”

“She has Vena, doesn’t she?” Grandpa Hunter asked sadly.

“No. Vena’s fine. Well, mostly fine. I promise. Orphia didn’t put me in here.”

“Then why are you here? How did you know to come?”

“The abbreviated version? A lot has happened since you’ve been here, and most of it just this summer. The relic is only part of what Orphia needs.

“Vena and I found the book that Orphia gave you. It has four stones in the back. One for each of the major races. Vampires. Werewolves. Dwarves. Fae. They used those stones to seal the portals. And they can use them to open the portals again too.”

“That’s why we couldn’t get into the fae realm on the other side,” Grandpa said softly.

I shivered, glad they hadn’t.

“Orphia has the dwarf stone, which was made into a ring. I, unfortunately, have the wolf one.”

I held up my hand to show the sapphire ring.

“How did you get it?” Grandma asked.

“The vampire who pushed me in here slipped it onto my finger.”

“What about the other two?” Grandpa Hunter asked. “Does she have the vampire ring?”

I shook my head. “The vampire with the ring won’t give it to her, but I think that’s why I’ve been shoved in here. I’m leverage.”

“Leverage?” Grandma Hunter questioned. “How?”

“I’ll leave that part for later.”

“And the fae ring?” Grandpa asked.

“Effora, the fae Queen, still has it as far as I know, but she was also working with the vampire who shoved me in here.”

Grandma Hunter shook her head. “This isn’t good. Orphia is closer to opening the portal.”

“I think so too. The people that the vampire is using me to lure here are probably already on their way.”

“We can’t let them open the portals. Not for you. Not for anyone. Do you understand? The closed portals are the only thing stopping Orphia from obtaining the relic.”

Grandpa stood and opened one of the packs to remove a misshaped stone covered in runes and veined with the same iridescence as Effora’s belly button ring.

I couldn’t believe the relic was actually here with them.

“We’ve been hiding it and protecting it since we’ve arrived. Like I said, we weren’t the only ones she sent in after it, but we’re the only ones who kept our sanity for this long. The mist broke the minds of everyone else.”

“It’s because we have each other to talk to,” Grandpa said.

“And we knew what to expect when coming in here.”

Grandpa nodded. “The flowers close after a while, and people lose their way and start wandering aimlessly. If you come upon anyone now, they’re harmless, but they weren’t when they first arrived.”

“Do you understand?” Grandma asked, locking our gazes. “The portal can’t be opened, and this cannot be allowed to leave, or humanity will become vampire slaves forever.”

My stomach sank with the realization that I’d be stuck in the weird limbo between worlds forever. But the alternative was too horrible to contemplate.

So I nodded and stood, needing a moment to contain the overwhelming feelings of loss and fear that currently made my legs wobbly. Everything I had hoped and dreamed about was out of my reach. Forever.

“I better go back and watch for them.”

“We’ll guide you there,” Grandma said, standing so Grandpa could pack our chairs and put away the relic.

When he finished, Grandma started off in a direction that didn’t have the yellow flower path.

“How do you know where to go?” I asked.

“Look up.”

Tilting my head back, I saw what looked like really faint stars among the grey mist. They flickered occasionally but were so small and faint I almost didn’t notice. As I stared, I noticed the stars we headed toward were ever so slightly blue, and the ones behind us were ever so slightly pink.

“Do you see it?” Grandpa asked from behind me.

“Blue for the human realm and pink for the fae realm?”

“Precisely right. You were always as clever as our Vena and Miles. That’s why we liked you so much.”

“I thought it was because I kept Vena out of trouble. Sometimes.”

“That too,” Grandma said.

“There’s no keeping a free spirit out of trouble all the time,” Grandpa said. “We’ve missed them dearly.”

My heart ached thinking of Vena and my family, who I would never get to see again.

But if staying in the portal with Grandma and Grandpa Hunter kept the rest of the world safe, I could do that.

I thought of Cross and Shepard. I didn’t think either would leave once they found me. The idea of watching Shepard grow old and die while I was stuck in here and ageless almost broke me. In that moment, I truly understood Cross’ burden.

He would be the only one to never leave me.