Skye chewed her lip, showing some nervousness herself. “It will take a lot of my energy, but I can handle it. We can’t risk going back to the academy without Gage having powers and being able to defend himself.”
Sheesh, when she put it that way…
I knew that Skye and Aurum had some kind of disappearing magic, but for Gage, who was in human form, he’d definitely need a portal to reach Avalon.
“Okay, let’s do it.” I rolled my neck and then shoulders, loosening myself up.
Gage squeezed my hand and then let go, stepping back.
Portal to Avalon, no big deal. I got this.
I closed my eyes and took in a deep, calming breath. I envisioned the beautiful glass bridge that led to the great castle in the sky beyond, and then I saw Cael in my mind’s eye. He was smiling and looked expectant.
Pulling my power forward, I released it through my palms and started to make the portal. A half a second into it, it suddenly felt like all of my power left my body in a big rush. My eyes popped open to see that I’d only created a tiny two-inch portal of silver and blue.
“Avalon portals take a lot of energy,” Skye explained, and then placed her hands over mine. My purple magic shot forward, and we both winced as the energy left our bodies.
No wonder we hadn’t done this before. It was nearly impossible!
With a grunt, I pushed everything I had into the portal. It grew to about three feet tall.
“Go!” I yelled to Gage. “I don’t know how much longer I can do this.”
He looked at me with alarm, and then crouched down.
I felt like I could drop right here and take a nap but was encouraged when I saw the spires of the castle in the sky beyond the opening.
Gage did an awkward army crawl through the portal, then the fatigue became too much. The second his foot was through, Skye pulled her hands from mine and popped out of existence—presumably following him to Avalon—and then the entire thing closed.
I fell to my knees panting as a bone crushing exhaustion pulled at my limbs. I needed a ten-hour nap and three Red Bulls, but I’d done it.I got Gage to Avalon.
The rest was up to him and Cael.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
After finding the rest of my crew in an abandoned cottage in the village, I explained what had happened and then promptly curled up next to Harley on a dusty bed and passed out. Sometime later, I was shaken awake by Drea.
My eyelids sprang open and I sat up. “Gage?”
She shook her head. “Not back, but my mom’s here. She has news.”
Aurelia? My head swiveled to see the Portal Master standing beside her husband. She waved at me with a small smile.
“How did you get here?” I rubbed my eyes, relieved to feel normal again and not drained of energy.
“I used the Diadem of Avalon to contact Drea and then sifted through her memories to see this place and everything Harley did to open a spot in the concealment spell. It was difficult, but now that I’ve been here I could do it again without Drea’s assistance.”
It was a relief to know that someone else could create a portal to Tartarus. All of the weight falling on my shoulders was getting old.
“What’s up?”
She obviously wasn’t here for tea and a chat.
She looked at Harley, who was still asleep beside me, and a frown pulled down the corners of her mouth. Something about the look started to make me feel uneasy. With a wave, Aurelia indicated that we should leave the room.
My stomach dropped with dread as I followed her into the adjoining room where Dash, Marlow, Indigo, Drea, and Jacob were waiting.
“What’s wrong with Harley?” I asked immediately. The way Aurelia looked at her had set off my alarm bells.
