“You’re my home, too. Wherever you go, I’ll follow.”
We shared a tender smile, our eyes conveying just how much those words were true. Then with one final nod from Derek, we stepped through, leaving his world behind.
Chapter Nine
Derek
I had expected the portal would lead to another forest, but instead, I found myself in a big room. The walls were filled with stones, giving the illusion we were in some sort of castle. Fitting, if I did say so myself.
Nolen’s hand was still holding onto mine, helping with the absurdity of travelling between worlds. But he was right. I felt at home here, even though I was still inside some building. But my world still had its hold on me, pulling me in that direction. Would I forever be split between two places like this? I hoped not. Maybe mating with Nolen would fix that. Whatever mating involved, I would gladly do it as soon as possible.
“This is the portal room,” Nolen explained. “Remi coming here had them busy, so they’re around somewhere.”
I really should’ve paid attention when they called, but I was simply too busy making sense of everything.
“Where are we sleeping?” I asked, already dreading the nightmares.
“Well, since my home is hours away, they’ve given us an apartment they offer those of us that live further away. I already have some stuff there from before I left for your world.”
“How far is it?” We were walking through a corridor, and I eyed the framed portraits on the walls we passed. They were beautiful, and once again I felt like walking through a castle.
“Only a ten minute walk from the castle. The rulers will meet us there.”
“Wait, this is an actual castle?!” I was way too excited about that fact. Was I important enough to be inside a castle? I also decided to ignore the fact that I would be meeting their rulers, that was nightmare fuel for another day.
“Sure is. The rulers work from here, and all big happenings are held here, too.”
“Are you sure we’re allowed to be here? More importantly, me?”
He gave me a ‘duh’ look, then said, “Why wouldn’t you be allowed here? You’re my mate.”
“Does that mean I’m allowed wherever you are?”
“Of course. Mates are a part of one another. Where you go, I go. And it’s the same with other mated pairs. When we’ve been mated for a while, we’ll be able to spend some time apart, to go to work and such, but not all mated pairs want to part ways. Most prefer to work together. It’s very common here.”
“I think I’ll prefer working next to you,” I admitted, already dreading leaving his side, even for a few minutes. I had this worry that I was onlydealing with this so well because of Nolen’s presence. If he left, I wasn’t sure how well I would fare.
“I don’t plan on going through other portals like I’m hired to do, so we can figure out what we want to do together. But for now, I’m still getting paid since the excursion isn’t done yet. You’re sort of my job at the moment. Learning about how you’re my mate and getting to know your world, those are within my job descriptions, too, however weird that sounds.”
I gave a soft laugh at that. I liked that he wasn’t skipping work to spend time with me. Not like I was with my studies. I’d texted Amber and apologized while driving to the forest. She would have to do the assignment without me, but I hoped she would be able to join her friends like they’d hoped for at first. I’d emailed the professor and told him it was a family emergency and I was unsure when I would return, hopefully that meant Amber would get some liberties.
We passed a few people, but they didn’t pay us any attention, likely too busy working. I eyed the clothes they wore and noted our differences rather quickly. They dressed a bit less vibrant than we did, and plainer. Lots of browns, greens, and blacks. I eyed Nolen’s black t-shirt that I still wore, and couldn’t stop a smile from forming on my lips. Did these people know I was wearing his clothes? That he’d claimed me as his mate?
We reached the end of the corridor and turned right, then a few steps more before we turned left. Then we walked down a beautiful wooden staircase, and finally, we reached the front doors. Nolen opened the leftside—yes it was so big there was a middle door, and two side doors—then let me walk out first, guiding me with his hand on my lower back so I could walk out easier. I felt the loss of his hand in mine, but his big hand was soon warming through the t-shirt, making me all too aware that his hand was just above my ass.
The world outside was… dull. That was the only description that came to mind. The trees, the grass, they all lacked luster, color…life. The sky was a different shade than ours, not by much but more pinkish in tint.
“I didn’t expect your world to be…” I didn’t want to offend him, so I tried to come up with a word that said dull, but without actually saying that.
“Boring? Dead? Lifeless?”
I gaped at him, not expecting him to agree. “Why is it like this?” I whispered, even if we were alone.
“I told you. Our magic is running out, taking life with it.”
It was sad. I could imagine how beautiful it would look with vibrant trees, flowers and then the sky, which was still beautiful, so I didn’t think that was affected like the ground was.
We began walking down a tiled pathway and I spotted some lilac flowers, I stopped walking, causing Nolen to stop as well. I decided I wanted to see the flowers a bit more clearly, so I stepped away from the pathway and onto the grass. As soon as my foot touched the ground, I felt my whole body go lax and had I been father away from Nolen, I would’ve fallen down. Luckily, he was right behind me, ready to catch me mid fall. Insteadof helping me stand, however, he eased me down so I lay on the grass. Then, a soft glow emitted from my body, seeping into the earth underneath me.
