Father’s growl rumbles through the ground itself, his broad frame looming, black eyes burning with a darkness that makes the veins across his cheeks stand out like ink beneath the skin. “Alina,” he snaps, the single word a warning, a refusal, the weight of a king’s command, “I swore an oath to protect Sanguis. I will not drag hunters into the heart of our people’s sanctuary.”
The heat of the ring flares faintly, a tremor against my skin, but it isn’t enough to take hold, and I squeeze my eyes shut,fighting to block them out. I don’t know how to bring the portal into being while their voices batter me from both sides like colliding storms, and all the while worry flows through me about if the guys will even be allowed through it.
“We will force her through the portal,” Dad growls out. “She can’t escape all four of us.”
Mom’s voice pitches higher as she yells, “And then what!? Risk her running away from us again the second we aren’t watching her?”
Papa’s deep timbre answers quickly, “So we never take our eyes off of her. Problem solved.”
My lips purse as I try and swallow the retort building within me. Fury whips around in my chest like an unchecked monster taking over. How am I supposed to picture our home when my family is reminding me of the shackles I feel when I’m there and how they want to tighten them now.
Elias’s voice breaks through their back and forth, meant only for me as he whispers. “Breathe, Briar. You can do this. Think of your room and the happy family memories there. Think of your mom waking you up. Think of one of your dads singing badly.”
They’re so specific, that for a moment my heart squeezes, realizing that he’s likely drawing from his own experiences from his parents before they passed. Still, his words provide an instant soothing effect as the related moments surface in my mind.
My enhanced hearing latches onto his soft words and I cling to them as I take deep breaths and push everything else out.
At last, the arguing fades into a silence, and in that space I seize the memories that have been slipping through my grasp as I imagine our home. The ring sears hot against my skin, light flaring in front of my closed eyes in a sudden rush.
When I open my eyes, a relieved sigh slips from my throat as an arc of magic flows outward from my ring in a sweeping glow,flooding the field with a glowing radiance. The portal blossoms fully open in front of us, its center rippling like liquid glass made of spiraling colors.
The hum of its power thrums through the ground, through my feet, and into the marrow of my bones.
It’s time to go home.
CHAPTER 24
BRIAR
My breath catches at the thought, but the awe of it lasts only a heartbeat, because the moment that hope flares, the world answers back.
The chop of the helicopters veers closer after the lights of the portal spill through the dark of night. They’re no longer distant sounds but whirring loudly nearly overhead, the beams of their spotlights sweeping through the area. Engines rumble from the other side of the treeline before crashing through the ranch gates with a metallic scream that echoes across the field. Headlights bloom in a violent sweep of white, pinning us under their glare like prey cornered in the open.
Any relief I felt is cut off by the knowledge burning in the back of my mind–whoever anchors the portal cannot step through until the end. If I go through, the portal will collapse in on itself and seal shut, leaving everyone else stranded.
Father’s voice is a roar over the cacophony of machinery closing in. “Fine! We will discuss this at home.” His focus sweeps from Mom, to Papa and Dad, yelling, “Let’s get them through. Now.”
I see the hesitation in all of my fathers as their gazes linger between Mom and me. They have to get the guys through theportal, because someone needs to be a guide for the humans to arrive at the intended location on the other side. No human would be able to picture our home and anchor to it.
Sure, one of my fathers could double up with a hand on two humans, but it’s clear each of them refuses to put their weapon away, leaving them one free hand.
Part of me holds my breath, almost anticipating them to shove all three guys in and be done with them, allowing the void to rip them apart within the portal with no anchor.
They surge into motion, heading toward the portal. The guys stagger, protesting under their breath that they won’t leave me behind, but they have no choice. My parents’ hands on them are the only anchors that can drag them through intact.
Father keeps his weapon pressed to Dante’s temple, shoving him forward with merciless efficiency, his broad frame blocking half the light as he guides them into the glowing mouth of the portal.
“No, I–” Dante’s shout is swallowed as he is ripped through dimensions.
“Briar!” Papa shouts over the whirring and rumbling, his usual hazel eyes flashing bright red in the portal’s light. “The second we’re through, you follow with your mother. Don’t you dare hesitate, young lady.”
I nod once, throat thick with my growing fear as the hunters begin to close in. Every instinct in me screams to bolt after them, to throw myself through the blinding glow, but I hold steady. My mother and I will be right behind them the moment they clear the threshold.
Her soul weapon ignites then, a blaze of crimson roaring into existence. The energy spilling off of it is so violent I feel the heat in my heart.Devere. Her name pulses through me with every beat of its glow, the weapon humming like she’s hungry for blood.
“We can’t leave her!” Callum cries out, desperate eyes meeting mine. “Please!”
Papa shoves him forward with ease, his strength far superior despite Callum digging his heels into the ground with all of his strength and weight. They disappear within the portal and my chest squeezes as the helicopter spotlight beams down on me.
