I shook my head, strapping my weapons belt around my waist. ‘I’m coming.’
Abaddon sighed but didn’t bother arguing any further. We both knew there would be no talking me out of it. He chucked my boots at me when he saw me hunting for them, then waited by the door. Once I strapped on my last dagger, securing the sheaths firmly to my belt, we exited the room. My brother heldthe swarm of curious Daemons away while I locked up, ensuring my ward was in place. I wouldn’t put it past any one of them to sneak in and snoop or steal something. That was just the way of Greed.
We didn’t take more than a step before we were assaulted.
‘Master Abaddon, are you going to save them?’
‘Are there really other races out there?’
‘I heard there was an Angel!’
‘Who conjured the portal?’
‘We’re going to die!’
The last one prompted another slew of chaos.
‘Move aside!’ my brother commanded, and thankfully, though they didn’t move far, theydidmove enough for us to squeeze through. ‘Back to your rooms!’
With much grumbling (and a few fearful tears), they did as they were told, though a few stuck around for a little longer to watch us head towards the steep, winding staircase that led to the rest of the academy.
When we reached the academy’s main exit, a crowd of older students and Masters had already accumulated. They brightened with anticipation when they saw us approach. A couple of them shot me furtive looks, but no one said anything. I wasn’t exactly well known for my sociability or my skill as a soldier, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t capable. They simply hadn’t seen that side of me, used to Abaddon’s quietly studious younger brother.
‘Right, that’s all of us, then,’ Master Gulliverof Gluttony,the academy’s headmaster, confirmed after a quick scan of those of us who had gathered. ‘The plan is simple. Keep our people safe from both the portal and any other threats. We do not know if the other beings are friendly or hostile, so proceed with caution. Now, let’s go save our people.’
He waved a hand in front of the wall, which disappeared to reveal the outside world. A strange new world with green grass, odd buildings, and an array of odd-looking supernatural races currently circling a growing portal.
There was no rhyme or reason for the pattern in which they stood, unintentionally intermingling while they stared catatonically at the portal. Daemons I knew from around the academy – and some I didn’t – were intermingled with those I recognised to be Humans, some that looked like Humans, but with pointed ears that indicated their Fae roots, and some with animalistic features like scales, feathers, claws, and hooves.
And then there were the ones with wings.
Master Gulliver strode forward. Orange eyes, denoting the House of Gluttony, scanned our surroundings warily as the other beings were also out and running around with a frantic energy that bordered on hysterical. A few fights had broken out between what looked like a Human and a Fae, but the majority were ignoring the other races in favour of trying to wake up their friends.
We clustered around Master Gulliver (there was safety in numbers) and watched each other’s backs as we headed for the circle of enraptured beings.
‘Spread out,’ he commanded. ‘Wake them up. Do whatever is necessary so we can get back behind the safety of the academy’s wards.’
I didn’t think it was the smartest idea to split up, especially when there were so many potential threats wandering freely in every direction, but we split off into pairs anyway. Abaddon and I stuck together and headed for the other side of the circle. I couldn’t help studying the beings we’d previously believed to be creatures of myth, mere stories told by creative minds. My focus was repeatedly drawn back to the Humans, a giddiness buildinginside me at the prospect of finding the woman of my dreams. Was she here? If so, I hoped she wasn’t one of the…
Fuck me.
There she was. Dark green hair. Tiny, delicate build. Milky smooth skin. Pink, pouty lips. And those brilliant blue eyes…
‘Don,’ I called out, but my voice was barely more than a whisper. It was like the air was constricting in my lungs, refusing to budge.
‘What is it?’ he asked, but he didn’t look up from where he was trying to jolt a Deamon back to reality.
‘It’s her.’
‘Her?’ he asked, still not fully paying attention as he gripped the unresponsive Daemon’s shoulders and shook.
‘The Human woman from my dreams.’
That caught his attention. He paused with his hands still on the other Daemon, and his head slowly turned in our direction. His eyes landed on me first, gauging my reaction before following my line of sight to the woman in front of me. His breath stalled in his lungs as he took her in, cataloguing the physical features I’d raved about for years. I watched it all in my periphery, refusing to remove my attention from the literal woman of my dreams.
Unfortunately, she was just as unresponsive as the rest of those caught up in the portal’s call.
True fear stole the breath from my lungs. After all this time, all these years spent believing I was in love with a figment of my imagination, she washere.My instincts screamed at me that she was my mate, her sweet, floral and earthy scent drifting beneath my nose tauntingly.
