That was the only other time she’d everentered the realm that should have been her home, but she had nopowers then, and it wasn’t a fun visit. This one wasn’t going to befun either.
The burnt-out ruins of the city had alwaysmade her uneasy. The people who straggled from it, searching forsomething better, had broken her heart, and she often gave themwhat little food they could spare.
But some people still resided within thecrumbled walls and buildings. Their lives were far from the onesthey once held, and most of their shiny skyscrapers fell beneaththe dragons’ wrath.
The people who continued to make their homein the city amazed and unnerved her. She had no idea what kind of aperson could survive what they had and still forge a life in thisbarren, forsaken place.
They were either incredibly brave and strongor lunatics. Or, most likely, a combination of all three.
If she ever managed to reclaim the thronethat belonged to her ancestors, she would make sure these peopleknew they would never have to fear the dragons again.
Cole led her toward a brick wall with charredmarks on it. Most of the wall had toppled and was little more thana pile of rubble, but a few sections remained standing. Ratssqueaked and scurried out of their way as Cole kicked aside some ofthe bricks. They were the only living things anywhere nearthem.
Lifting her skirt, Lexi climbed carefullyover the rubble toward a still-standing section of wall. In thecenter of it, something shimmered. No, not shimmered; it was morelike the brickswaveredlike hot air rising from the asphaltin July.
The bricks in the wavering center lookedexactly like those surrounding them, but that wavering was there.She’d never seen anything like it before. It certainly hadn’t beenthere when the Lord’s men brought her here.
When she’d been here with them, and they’dled her toward this section of wall, she’d been certain she wasgoing to walk straight into the wall. She’d braced herself for theimpact.
Instead, they’d walked straight into it and,instead of bouncing back, the wall absorbed them. It took her a fewseconds to realize the wall had been hiding a portal, and they werenow inside it.
“What is that wavering?” she whispered.
“It’s the portal,” he said.
“I’ve never seen it before.”
“It’s spelled,” Cole said. “It’s usually whatthe few permanently open portals look like to an immortal, and onlyan immortal can see it.”
“I’ve been to this area of the city before;I’ve seen this wall and been through this portal, but I’ve stillnever seen it before.”
“Sahira’s potion must have tamped down yourability to do so.”
“What if a human accidentally finds it?”
“If they do, then they’ll most likely die assoon as they enter Dragonia. Before the Lord revealed to humansthat immortals exist, some of them stumbled upon this and otheropen portals.
“It’s risky to leave a portal permanentlyopen like this. But since only an arach can open a portal in andout of Dragonia, the arach set these up so immortals who needed toenter the realm could do so.”
“It’sextremelyrisky to put one inthe human realm,” Lexi said. “They have no idea what they’reencountering. They must have been so scared.”
“Some managed to escape again. That’sprobably how their legends about immortals were born. Come on,”Cole said.
He linked his arm through hers and claspedher hand as they strode through the wavering section of the brickwall.
Keep your shield in place, she toldherself as the portal enveloped them.
CHAPTER 46
When they exited the portal, the wondrousbeauty of Dragonia greeted her. She’d only ever been to the realmonce before, but the memory of that terrifying encounter with theLord still haunted her dreams.
As the sun streamed over them, Lexi cast anervous glance down at her bare arms, but they didn’t glow, and shedidn’t see any silver markings.
One fear down, a thousand more to go beforethis is over.
But at least she didn’t give away what shewas by stepping into the realm. Some of the tension in her chesteased, and she couldn’t stop herself from grinning at Cole. Hesqueezed her hand as he smiled back.
Straightening her shoulders, she lifted herchin. She would not fail here today. She would keep her shield inplace, and one day, she would reclaim this land. Shewouldmake it a happy place again.
