T H O R N W O O D
As soon as my finger brushes the D, the books and shelves and back of the bookshelf disappear. Within the frame is a swirling portal, resembling a whirlpool, its contents looking likeliquified glass. Rainer’s mouth hangs open as he stares with wide eyes. “This is the most blatantly clear bit of magic I’ve seen yet,” he says.
Grinning, I offer him my hand. While portals are almost always accurate, there are ways to veer off if you’re new to them. Rainer, still entirely mesmerized by the appearance of the portal, lets his hand fall into mine.
I grip it tightly, just because I can. My monster reacts, shifting under my skin and focusing on this new touch. Ooooh. No wonder Keary is so keen on this human. He’s certainly ours. I can feel the pull far more clearly now. If I hadn’t been so focused on Keary since he’s being a buttface and refusing to complete our monster mash, I might have noticed this as well.
Keary did immediately. Why? Why, when he’s so damn determined to keep us away, does he accept this human?
I try not to let it hurt me. I’m not convinced that Keary is intentionally trying to hurt me or Notto. There’s something else behind his insistence for remaining a stag slut, which is kind of funny because he hasn’t slutted it up in years. Instead, he reluctantly lets me and Notto give him orgasms then turns into a royal ass for the next day or so.
With Rainer’s hand securely in mine, we step into the portal. It feels like a cold liquid covers my body, but the viscosity is all wrong. Instead of leaving me wet, it feels wet to the touch but doesn’t cling to the skin like water.
We step out on the other side, walking into a forest. The trees are tall and twisted, with long bending branches. The trees themselves can look a little creepy, like something that might make up nightmares, but there are flickering little lights everywhere, sparkling like glitter, changing the atmosphere entirely.
“Wow,” Rainer says. He twists to look behind us where we’d seemingly walked through nothing to get here. “What is this place? What kind of… door was that?”
“It’s a transport portal. Once, they connected to every other portal, and you only had to tell it where you wanted to go. Now, they’re connected to specific places that are considered a retreat. Like the libraries, if your intent is bad, the portal will tear you to pieces in transit.”
Rainer flinches. “Pleasant.”
I grin. “It’s to keep Silence from infiltrating these places. Just another wall.”
“So, what is this place?”
“Thornwood. It’s a fae forest.”
“Fae. As in fairy?”
“I dare you to call a fae a fairy,” I say, amused. “In fact, I’ll even introduce you to some fae for convenience.”
He rolls his eyes. “Then what is a fae if not a fairy?”
“They’re fae. There’s no other explanation.”
“Talking to you is like talking in circles sometimes,” he notes.
I pull him along down a path, his hand still firmly in mine. Trees and rocks create arches. Through the arches are very clearly different biomes within the forest. I enjoy watching Rainer’s face as we walk. Kaida is obviously very comfortable. She frolics through the flowers and rolls around like a puppy. It’s cute.
“A fairy is from a child’s imagination, like the little flying things in fairy tales. The term kind of humanizes them and makes them far less threatening—harmless childhood magic. A fae is the exact opposite. A fae is dangerous. Twisted. Dark. Their magic is deep and winding, often connected to one of the elements, and infinitely stronger than what you’re taught a fairy is.”
“Is this a safe place?”
“Definitely. Again, like the library, the magic reads your intent. Not your verbal intent but your unconscious intent. There’s no fooling fae magic.”
I’m sure he’s paying attention, but he hasn’t stopped looking around. Admiring the forest. Watching critters peek out from within the flowers. A soft breeze makes a mini tornado of witch lights spin before breaking apart, the sight mesmerizing.
We follow Kaida through one of the arches and into a different biome. This one has a crystal clear pond that’s incredibly deep. You can see the bottom, but it’s far, far beneath the surface. A trickling waterfall feeds the cavernous pond.
Rainer jumps when Kaida runs off the side and dives in. She swims down, down, down until turning and propelling herself back up.
“Is the water safe?” he asks.
“Yep. Want to swim?”
He looks down at his clothes. I laugh and begin peeling mine off. The flush in Rainer’s cheeks is delicious. Maybe I watch a little more intently than I should when he begins taking his clothes off too.
We’re left naked, staring at each other.
