His eyebrows raised as he took a sip of water. ‘The War College is a strange place for shadow training…’
I nodded. ‘For once we think alike. So?’
‘I will not take you there; you can go by yourself,’ he said smugly.
Gods give mepatience, or I might burn someone. ‘Are we still ignoring the fact I don’t have access to my shadows?’
Flashing his teeth in a proud grin, he teased, ‘Did I say you can jump there on your own, or that you can go there on your own?’
‘You expect me to walk to some unknown town?’
Alec chuckled, finding my agitation entertaining. These hazel eyes of his appeared black in the dimly lit room, making him look slightly deranged. ‘It’s an island…’
The vision of attempting to reach it on some shabby boat ran wild in my mind before I shot back bitterly, ‘Even better then. Sign me up for a leisurely swim.’
Getting up in a swift movement, he neared me and walked past smiling. ‘Follow me, you uninspired weasel; I’ve got something for you. You can spend the rest of eternity being grateful.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘I said follow me,’ he repeated and left, making me rush after his long strides.
We turned the corner, anticipation for whatever he had planned gnawing at my insides until my magic stirred beneath my skin, caught somewhere between excitement and… preparation? Alec had a knack for silly ideas.
Moments later, we descended into the underbelly of the estate, and I fought off cobwebs, silently cursing under my breath. The basement looked dusty and uneventful. When he opened another set of doors, I started to wonder whether my sister had made him lose his mind. That was before I realised what stood in the centre of the room. It made no sense; they said they had none, and yet a sparkly clean portal swirled with shades of grey force, inviting me in.
My throat felt heavy.
Freedom. Options. Endless possibilities.
And yet, standing in front of it, I hesitated.
‘What’s the catch?’ I eventually muttered, taken aback by the gesture.
He watched me closely. ‘No catch.’
‘I thought I would only be allowed to leave the Isle on my own if I mastered shadows and could jump away?’ I asked, though the prospect of simply flying away on Anya crossed my mind once or twice. Of course, the Isle could potentially hold us back since it was sentient and under father’s rule.
My brother stood there equally mesmerised by the doorway to endless possibilities he had natural access to before clearing his throat. ‘I don’t want you to feel imprisoned. If this is your home, then you can leave anytime you want, right? Hopefully, you’ll come back.’
It hit harder than I expected, and I needed a second to compose myself. ‘Thank you. I won’t run away, Alec. I don’t even have a place to run away to.’
His wary eyes assessed my expression like he hoped he wouldn’t see signs of deception. ‘At least now you can go places without having to nag.’
Bastard. ‘Is this your way of telling me you are sick of transporting me?’
‘Are you kidding me?’ Alec laughed. ‘If I need to go back to the fucking Fire Kingdom again anytime soon and smell your hots for my archnemesis, I might just… Nevermind. Your sister is blocked from it by the way.’
I couldn’t contain the smirk upturning my mouth. ‘You blocked her access?’
‘Nope, I actually had it engineered so she can never use it,’ he beamed with happiness and pride, and for once, I realised they might be equally unhinged.
‘Gods.’
‘Don’t judge. She already showed what type of terror she is; I have no doubts she would have eventually broken the authorisations on the portal with her witchcraft, and I’d have to search the whole of Medeis to haul her ass back.’
I nodded, stopping my face from betraying my thoughts too clearly. ‘Sounds very healthy, Alec.’
‘Sometimes love is sweet and sometimes love is war,’ he claimed as he sang the lyrics of some cliché song while searching for the War College on the tablet. It flashed red, saying "unauthorised", until he had overridden it with a small key. ‘Don’t lose it; it’ll get you anywhere on the Isles. But maybe don’t show up to private residences uninvited…’
