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“Storm!” I call to him, and his eyes snap to meet mine across the small clearing.
“What? Are you telling me you wouldn’t have done it anyway, even knowing that?” This time, his question is directed at me, but I don’t bother answering him.
He knows damn well I would have done much worse to get her back. We all would have.
“Traveling through the portal isn’t what did that,” Garrett says once again, pulling our attention back to him.
“Then what did?” I ask before anyone else can butt in again. I get the feeling whatever he’s about to say is big, which is why he’s being so secretive about it.
He turns to face us fully, the sun shining on his face and catching his eyes.
Eyes that aren’t red anymore, but instead a golden color that is somehow even more unnatural than the red was.
“I don’t know for sure.”
“What happened to your eyes?” Pike asks at the same time Garrett answers, as he walks over to join us.
“This is their true color,” Garrett explains.
“Did you think red would help you blend in easier?” Sol asks, laughing.
Garrett doesn’t look away from me, though, and I feel like he knows what I’m waiting for.
“It wasn’t a choice, the same way I didn’t get to choose the beast I had there. Some things don’t translate the same between the realms.”
He shakes his head, his eyes sad, before he rubs a hand down his face with a sigh.
“What do you think it was?” I ask, pushing him back toward a topic that actually matters.
“I can’t be certain, but I think it was more than just a basic magic overload. I’ve never witnessed anyone who wasn’t born in this realm come through the portal, but I’ve read about it. Usually, people throw up or feel uncomfortable for a little while, but that,” he motions toward the clearing we woke up in. “I’ve never heard it described as causing enough pain that someone passed out. It’s not as though any of you are weak. Each of you is a beast of old, alphas in your own right,” he rambles, and I almost wonder if he hit his head on the way through the portal.
I might believe that had he not been telling the truth every time so far.
“Could you stop talking in circles and get to the fucking point already?” Lyle barks, clearly coming to the end of his patience.
I watch the smile melt off Garrett’s face and almost feel bad for him. We might be dealing with a lot now, but the panic we’ve been feeling from Serena’s absence is probably only a tiny drop in the bucket compared to what he’s dealt with.
For thirteen years, he’s been searching for her, and while I can’t blame him, I would do the same. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to go through that for so long, only to find her and discover she has no memory of him. That would eat any one of us up. It’s no wonder he was so desperate to get close to her, regardless of the threats that were made against him.
“Well, I can’t be sure until I ask my mother, but I’m pretty sure the pain was from the old magic. Most people who cross the realms with beasts as powerful as your own are born here. We handle it better, but it wasn’t great for me either. After years of being away, it almost took me right out of the sky.”
Nobody says a word; not even Lyle has a smart remark.
“I saw you right before I passed out,” Storm says as he stands, brushing the leaves from his ass as he heads toward us. His gaze is fixed on Garrett, looking him over from head to toe. I’m sure he means to look intimidating, but his efforts fall flat. You can only look so scary while walking around butt-naked.
I get the feeling Garrett didn’t pack before he left, though, and even if he had, I doubt he thought to bring five extras of everything. At least we can shift. If not, it would probably make trekking through the forest a bit more complicated. Especially when we don’t know shit about this place and what’s in said forest.
Storm gets up in Garrett’s face, and I expect him to take a step back, unwilling to be so close to him as he is. Instead, he stands his ground, holding his gaze.
“You’re not a damn bird at all!” Storm shouts, poking him in his chest hard, and I have to fight the urge to pull him away.
I might not be Garrett’s biggest fan, but I don’t hate the guy. I can’t bring myself to, knowing Serena feels something for him. Add that to the fact that he’s the only one here who knows anything about this place, and suddenly, he becomes a lot more worthy of protection against Storm’s random rambling.
“You’re a fucking dragon.”
I hear the awe in Storm’s voice as he says it.
“Bullshit,” Lyle says, moving toward us, and Sol follows behind him. “Everyone knows dragons aren’t real. It was probably just the pain playing tricks on your eyes.” Lyle waves a hand dismissively, but Storm isn’t backing down.
