Tearing his addictive eyes away from mine, he turned toward my family and his battalion, who watched our exchange quietly.
‘We’ll cross first, my battalion straight after in case we need reinforcements. We’ll wait for you on the other side.’
‘And who picked you as the boss?’ Alec scoffed, emerging from the group, the scowl on his face making my pulse pick up. We all needed to focus; fighting now wouldn’t solve any problems, just add to the ever-growing pile of shit.
River squared his shoulders. ‘Care to challenge me?’
I shook my head, begging the Gods to talk some sense into my reckless brother’s mind. For the first time, they might have, because as he looked at me, he retreated.
‘That’s what I thought. This is my kingdom, and you’ll do well to remember that.’
The mask of a ruthless king fell into place just before I tugged on his arm. The tiniest physical connection seemed to release some of the tension, as his softened gaze fell to my hand.
Not knowing what to do with myself, I let it go before he hooked them together at the elbow and led me toward the portal. ‘Ready?’
‘Never,’ I replied truthfully.
The slight smell of sulphur enveloped us as we crossed the threshold into the glowing abyss of swirling light. The warmth stretched over our bodies like a second skin. It was drastically different to shadow-portalling, yet a lot less turbulent. Or maybe it was less turbulent than Alec’s portalling; Miriam's and Isaac’s didn’t quite feel as chaotic.
And chaos was what awaited us on the other side.
The second we stepped into my wing of the Ortensian castle, we were assaulted by a stench so thick it threatened to make me sick. I heaved but stopped myself just in time before River’s right hand, Cecil, stepped through with Albert. They cringed, assessing the area, but nothing looked out of place.
I heaved once more, kneeling down as nausea assaulted me in rolling waves. The smell of putrid decay ingrained itself into my nose so deeply that even breathing through my mouth was pointless.
My traitor knelt beside me, seemingly unaffected. Neither was the increasing number of his soldiers. He petted my back and whispered, ‘Let me increase the shield. It will drown some smell out.’
Answering was a struggle. Each breath made me feel sick. A nod was all I could muster.
The blanket of his power felt familiar, though, given the circumstances, it did nothing to relax me.
‘What the hell is that smell?’
‘Death,’ several of the warriors exclaimed, and I prayed they were mistaken.
It took a minute for everybody to enter the portalling chamber, and though River’s power made it bearable for me, Miriam kept vomiting by the wall. Just as I was about to ask River to help her the way he did me, Michael crossed the threshold too and rushed to her.
The prince’s kindness never failed to surprise me.
Momentarily, Miriam improved, though her proximity to Michael drew distaste into Alec’s mouth. Funny that the smell didn’t elicit that reaction, and politeness did.
The way he stared daggers at the prince who ignored him entirely made me smirk. River’s eyes snapped to me, and with a tone softer than I remembered, he asked, ‘What’s funny?’
‘Just the situation. Alec’s discomfort is always welcome.’
His eyes lit up. ‘I missed your smile.’
What was I supposed to say to that?
I missed everything about him, but this wasn’t the time nor the place to discuss our predicament. He kept looking at me, analysing my reaction like he always used to, and a blush crept onto my cheeks at his attentiveness.
‘We have a mission to complete,’ Alec barked from the other side of the room, saving me.
Breaking away from the moment, my legs pushed me toward the heavy door before River and several soldiers outran me.
Nothing could have prepared us for the nightmare waiting on the other side.
Countless bodies lay scattered around the floor. The horror on their faces twisted something deep inside me.
