“For protection. Obviously.”
He touched his own, sitting slightly crooked on his head. “I am wearing mine as well.”
“We look absurd.”
“We look powerful. Very intimidating flower crowns.”
We walked through the castle together, hand in hand, wearing wilted flower crowns and determined expressions. Guards bowed as we passed, their faces carefully neutral. If they thoughtthe flower crowns were strange, they were smart enough not to comment. One guard’s mouth twitched slightly, but he caught himself.
“Something amusing?” Mal asked mildly.
“No, Your Majesty. Very powerful protection, I am sure.”
“Extremely powerful,” I agreed. “My son made them.”
The guard’s face softened. “Then they are certainly magical, Your Majesty.”
Casimya waited in the courtyard with five guards. Our small expedition team.
“Ready?” Casimya asked.
I nodded. “Ready.”
She began setting up materials for the portal. I focused on the coordinates from the tracking spell, mixing it with Tyreen’s name repeated in my mind and the feeling of my own energy deep in my chest.Noctherion woods. Tyreen’s magical signature.I could almost feel it, a pull in my chest.
The portal began to form, shimmering in the air.
“Okay,” I said, stepping toward it. “Noctherion woods should be right through here.”
I stepped through confidently.
And sank ankle-deep in swamp water.
The mud squelched around my boots, cold and disgusting. The smell of stagnant water and rotting vegetation hit me like a wall.
“This is not woods,” Mal said dryly, his boots sinking beside me. He was ankle-deep in mud and somehow still managed to look dignified. Unfair.
I looked around at the marshy landscape. Reeds in clumps. Dark, still water. Somewhere distant, a frog croaked mockingly.
Casimya, still on the Lytopia side, looked distinctly unimpressed. Her expression said everything about what she thought of my portal accuracy.
“Fucking portals,” I muttered, trying to pull my boot free. It made a horrible sucking sound.
“Try again?” Mal suggested mildly. His boot made the same horrible sound when he moved.
“Definitely trying again. Unless you want to wade through swamp for three days.”
“I would prefer not to.”
We stepped back through the swamp portal. I closed the failed portal with more force than necessary. Deep breath.Focus. Feel the location, don’t just think about it.That’s what Casimya had been drilling into me for weeks.
I tried again, pouring my concentration into getting it right.
This time when the portal opened, I could see dense forest on the other side. Dark trees, thick underbrush, dappled sunlightfiltering through leaves. Exactly what Noctherion woods should look like.
“That looks better,” I said with relief.
“Much better than swamp,” Mal agreed.
