“Hank won’t tell?” I asked.
Brayden shook his head. “His wife is alive because of me,” was all he said.
Fair enough.
“Ready?” He took the egg into his hand.
I nodded, reaching out to grasp his biceps and steady myself. His eyes went hooded for a moment and I wondered if I needed to touch him at all for this portal to work.
Before I could think too much on it, he dropped the egg at our feet. The hinge popped open and a blinding light shot out of it, sucking us inside.
My feet landed on cool damp earth. I was still holding on to Brayden, so we both swayed as we steadied ourselves. I let go of him and looked around, taking in the magnificent sight of trees hundreds of feet tall, purple and pink flowers growing up their mossy trunks. A serene feeling settled over me and I took a deep, cleansing breath. Shafts of sunlight filtered through the thick forest and I couldn’t help but feel like I was home.
Brayden stepped up beside me wearing an expression of peace and calmness.
“Feels like home…” I told him.
He smiled at that. “That’s because we are home. The Briar Woods are at the edge of Moon Valley. My brothers and your sisters are only two days’ walk that way.” He pointed to a far-off mountain and frowned.
We were so close and yet so powerless to do anything. Brayden reached down and picked the egg up at his feet, closing it and slipping it back into his pocket.
I changed the subject. “So how does the egg portal thing work?” I didn’t want to think about Natalie and Blake trapped in that place.
Brayden started to walk and I matched his pace. “The Ether is a realm that directly overlays Earth. You need to only tweak your sight to be present in one and invisible in another. It’s something as a Greywolf we can do at ease without a portal egg when we have our full trained power.”
Wow, it sounded like it was a lot like teleporting.
“Can the—?” I almost saidFae Lords, but figured he wouldn’t appreciate that so close to where they were right now. Who knew if these trees could talk? “—big baddies do that? Just teleport wherever they want on Earth without magical aid?”
He nodded. “They can and they do,” was all he said.
Awesome. Something to look forward to in the future, I assumed.
“Do we know where Artemis is?” I asked next.
Brayden shook his head. “He’ll find us.”
I stopped, turning to him. “You don’t have any idea where this dude is?”
Brayden peered over at me, and he looked tired and very much not in the mood for this.
“I do not, but I trust that if the Elder Fae said to look here for his brother, he will find us.”
My eyes bugged. “Hewill find us? These are thick wild woods, he could be anywhere.”
Brayden looked out at the expanse of trees. “I was told as a child that these woods were haunted. It’s the ideal place for someone to hide out. No one comes here unless they have to.”
Haunted? A chill rose up my spine. I did not do ghosts and things that went bump in the night. “Ha-haunted?” I mumbled. “We aren’t staying after dark, right? Becau—”
Brayden reached out and pressed a finger to my lips. “Just relax, Averly. I will protect you.”
I tried not to visibly swoon and nodded. We set off again. Over the next hour we trampled through the woods talking to each other softly and looking for any sign of life.
When we reached a clearing, Brayden’s head cocked to the side as if he’d heard something, but I hadn’t, probably because I’d been talking so much. Then I heard it: a twig snapped, and leaves crinkled.
Brayden pulled the hood of his sweater up over his head to obscure his face and spun. “Show yourself or I will assume you have ill intent and kill you on the spot,” Brayden yelled, a pelt of fur running over his exposed palms.
“Yeah!” I yelled, “and if this is a ghost, we’ll… we’ll curse you!” I spat, unsure what I could do to something spectral that would scare them.
