He arches a brow at me. “I can poof things now?”
“Apparently so.”
We both stare at the pretty purple flower as that sinks in, and then Asher takes it over to the kitchen to put it in a glass of water. “Well, I don’t suppose it’ll do much good as a weapon of mass destruction, so we might as well enjoy how pretty it is.”
“I suppose that’s true.” I watch as he gets the flower sorted and wonder what him being a guardian angel brought back from the dead will mean for him. “Are you sure you're up for a field mission?"
His jaw sets in that stubborn line I know too well. “Of course I am. I'm better than ever."
"Ash, you just turned an arrow into a flower."
"Which is weird, but not a sign that I need to stay here." He meets my gaze with a determination I know too well. "I'm not sitting this out."
The agony of his death is still so fresh I can barely breathe. I want to cast a protective shield around him and lock him in the house where demon wolves and ancient forges can't touch him.
But Asher has never been a guy to hide while others fight, and the Goddess Mother herself sent him back for a reason.
To stand and fight at my side—where he was always destined to be.
"Fine. But if you accidentally teleport into a tree, I'm saying I told you so."
"Deal."
Wylder comes back inside to check on us. "Are we doing this?"
I grab my jacket and shrug it on. “Yeah, we are. Sebastian has probably harnessed Mica’s instinct into a target by now.”
Wylder leads the way outside to where Orion, Izzy, Clara, Reid, and Rowan are waiting. “It won’t be hard for him to piggyback the scrying spell to get a location. The only question is whether the forge will still be there.”
The power of the Hallowind standing stones builds with Sebastian’s intention and targets Mica’s scrying spell. The nine of us stand with our hands linked as the runes on the stones glow pale blue and the portal opens.
Traveling through a standing stone portal is a bit like the first moments of a carnival ride. My body turns into a weightless mist and then I’m sucked into the swirl of a magical vortex.
My stomach lurches like I’m on that centrifugal force carnival ride that sucks you backward against the walls, and pressure builds in my ears.
Wind whips around us, carrying the scents of the surrounding forest: pine, ozone, and the power of my ancestors, ancient and wild.
The ground falls away, and then suddenly, the chaos is gone, and our bodies reform. My feet plant on solid ground and I stumble to the side, colliding into Wylder, who holds me upright until the world stops spinning.
I wait until my mind stops sloshing inside my head.
There is nothing but stillness for a long beat, and then I gather myself enough to straighten and look out at the red rock and endless blue sky beyond.
Hot air rolls through our group, pulling my hair away from my face. “So… somewhere in the Southwest?”
Wylder ensures that I’m steady on my feet and then pulls off his jacket. "Arizona? Maybe New Mexico?"
"Does it matter?" Rowan twirls a dagger, restless energy incarnate. "We're not here for the scenery."
No, that’s true. I tie the arms of my jacket around my waist and assess our surroundings. “Everyone stays close. No wandering off, and no one-man heroics."
Asher snorts. "You are literally describing yourself.”
Rude.“Fine. Do as I say, not as I do.”
Orion laughs. Sebastian grins. The girls all snicker.
I flip them all my middle finger and get moving.
