“Something is happening,” Drea squeaked.
Good. I wasn’t going to open my eyes just yet and lose my concentration, so I just kept pushing my power into the space behind Indigo, while also pulling on her power. It was a nearly impossible dance but—
“It’s working! That’s the place.” Gage’s voice held awe, and I couldn’t help but pop my eyelids open then.
I gasped. Looking over Indigo’s shoulder, a three foot portal had opened. I could see the mausoleum where his mother was buried through the opening and it was just like the picture, albeit a bit more worn down and no sunlight brightened the area as it was early morning, before sunrise in London. The portal opened wider until it was finally big enough for us to walk through.
I inhaled, relaxing, and trying not to freak out or put more pressure on myself, and the portal grew wider as I pulled for more power.
“Go. I’m not sure how long I can hold it,” I said, feeling Indigo’s power suck into me and then out through my hands. She was like a battery that stabilized my power so that I didn’t have to strain to keep it flowing full blast.
No one moved, they just cast unsure glances at each other.
“I’ll go first.” Skye zoomed through Indigo and my arms and then into the portal. “See, I’m perfectly fine.” She waved from the other side.
Was she joking? It’s not like she could die twice, but maybe it would rip a soul apart? I didn’t know.
“Skye went through and is fine,” I shared.
I felt Gage shrug behind me. “Good enough for me,” he said, and then stepped toward the portal.
“I’m going next!” Drea yelled and ran through with her head dipped low.
Everything is fine. Keep your friends alive. Just stay cool.
Marlow was next, then Dash and finally Jacob went right after him. I felt some fatigue in my limbs, but as soon as it came it was replenished with a new source of power. Indigo? The souls? Was this what my father did? Because it wassupercreepy.
“Keep the connection with Indigo. Have her step back into the portal,” Skye coaxed.
I relayed the information to Indigo, and she nodded, backing into the portal while holding my hands as I walked forward.
Going to London for a visit, nothing to see here. I scanned the New York cemetery one final time to make sure we were still alone. I didn’t want anyone following us. We were. And so without another thought, I stepped through and halfway across the world.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
The portal closed behind me once I stepped through and let go of Indigo’s hands. I took a moment to get my bearings. The angel marks on my arms swirled, and the depleted energy I felt from making the portal was instantly replaced with vitality.
Glancing around the place, I did a quick headcount and noticed that Skye was already gone.
She’s probably halfway through the Harry Potter experience by now, I chuckled to myself. The weird ghost had grown on me.
When my gaze rested on Gage, I froze. He stood motionless before his mother’s mausoleum, and I looked at the others. “Give us a minute?”
They nodded, moving farther down a worn path to give us privacy.
I walked up and trailed my fingers down Gage’s back. “We could pick up some flowers and set them here before we leave,” I offered.
He nodded, staring at the closed door to the structure.
“Do you want to go inside? We have time. We can—”
“Nah, I’m fine.” He turned to face me, and his expression was unreadable. “Remember when I told you that people weren’t born bad, they become it?”
My heart thumped in my chest at the memory of our fight in the alleyway after I’d learned Apollyon was my father, and how it led to our first kiss. The fight—and the kiss—had sprung from anger as much as passion. I nodded.
“My mom said that when I told her I wanted to be a Shade when I grew up. Now I wonder if she was subtly telling me to pick Lumen.” Confusion crossed his features, and I reached up and cupped his face in my hands.
I didn’t know his mom’s situation and why she chose Shade, but I had a feeling if she was married to Arthur, she saw the worst of it and didn’t want that for her son.
