Less than a year ago, I would’ve said hell no, but I’d progressed leaps and bounds in warping since then.
I nodded. “I got this. Just give me a couple minutes.”
I studied the photo until I could practically hear the waves crashing along the shore and the seabirds calling out overhead. When the vision was firmly in my head, I turned to my friends.
“Andre, go through first,” I said. “It’s best to have a warper on the other side. Just in case there are demons around and we need to make a quick exit. I assume you can get anywhere now?”
He grinned proudly at me. “Have been able to for months.”
Months . . .My poor parents.
“Good for you,” I said, again shaking off the shock of how much time had passed. “Then I say we get right to it.”
I inhaled a deep breath and worked the surrounding magical energies. The warphole opened easily, and grew to fill the room from floor to ceiling before it stopped.
I nodded to Andre. He passed through, then the others followed one by one. When I was the only one remaining, I looked around my home and fought the lump rising in my throat.
Would it still be here if I returned later? Would I ever return?
There’s only one way to find out. Keep going.
I spared the living room one last glance before stepping into the warphole.
The moment I exited, I noted the scent of salt and the sensation of sand pummeling the skin of my face. It was dark, but we were undoubtedly at the beach. I caught Ayla’s eye.
“This is where we need to be.” She pointed east, into the National Forest. “The academy is eight-ish miles that way. Everyone should stay close. There are traps along the way, but as long as you don’t stray, we’ll avoid them.”
Everyone fell in line behind the faerie, their flashlights piercing the cover of darkness in front of them. After we’d trekked for ten minutes, I sidled up next to her, wanting to understand more about her magic.
“What in you, besides you being of the fae folk, allows you past the academy’s safeguards?”
“Well, it is mostly that I’m fae. But also, all of us receive small tattoos when we enroll at the academy.” She pulled up the sleeve of her shirt, exposing her forearm.
I glanced down at a nondescript circle bearing the five elements that fae could use. To a human eye, it might appear New Age, but not overtly so.
“Ingenious,” I said, even though I wasn’t sure I’d want a tattoo.
“Spellcasters should implement that,” Alex muttered, clearly of a different mind. “Would’ve saved us a lot of trouble during the Culling and Grind.”
“Will we arrive in the Snowcap Court again?” I asked Ayla.
She shook her head. “There’s another portal to Faerie at the school. One made specifically for me and Sana in case we need to make a fast exit. It will take us directly to the Riverlands Court.”
“Why only for you two?” Hunter asked, reminding me he didn’t know much about the Spy Game champions from the fae academy.
“My sister and I are in line—far back in line, mind you—for the throne of the Riverlands. Distant cousins of Prince Halad, the heir. He has about two dozen cousins, so that’s really nothing special, but our parents act like we’re the actual heirs. They insisted upon a getaway portal if we were to attend a spy academy.” Her cheeks reddened. Her lineage always seemed to make her uncomfortable. “We’ll use that portal, and go to the Riverlands Court. To the castle, to be exact.”
“Great plan,” I said, thankful to not be visiting the Snowcap Court again. It had been nice, and the royals were kind, but the place was also freezing. The cold and I weren’t friends.
We continued through the forest. Conversations popped up here and there, but fizzled out after a few minutes. Mostly, we trudged forth in silence, listening for something approaching in the dark.
When the pleasant, distant sounds of a cascading waterfall became audible, Ayla held out a hand, stopping me.
“That’s the signal. I have to remove the glamour I keep up—otherwise it sets off an alarm.”
“Could anyone hear the alarm way out here?” I asked.
Ayla shrugged. “That depends on how close they are and who’s around. The night we left London, Andre warped us as close as he could get to the shifter academy. Once we were there, we found the heads of the schools. Headmistress Cristala left immediately and began the evacuation of the fae students. The school has been empty since, except to transport people to Faerie. But who knows if magicals have been lurking in the area?”
