But not now.
At the moment, her priorities lay elsewhere, tangled up in responsibilities she couldn’t ignore. She’d made a promise to the friend she’d lost, so she had to see it through. As intriguing as the app was, it was a distraction she couldn’t afford.
But it remained on her phone, quietly waiting.
“I still can’t believe you had the willpower to stop yourself from using the app,” Claudia commented. “I’d be firing it up the second it landed on my phone.”
“You want to find your mate that bad?” Lana asked, genuinely surprised.
Shaking her head vigorously, Claudia scoffed. “Hell, no. The app isn’t only for finding your mate. It’s a magical chatbot that can basically answer any question you have. I’d definitely ask it for lottery numbers or stock tips.”
Lana laughed. “I’m not sure it works that way. Besides, by the time we get back to school, the app might already be gone from my phone since I haven’t opened it.”
“Does it come with a time limit?”
“Who knows. It disappeared from Starla, Remy, and Ava’s phones.”
“But only after they used it.” Claudia pointed toward the lake. “Look, I think our ride is here.”
The silver boat that glided out of the pale pink mist could have been used to ferry souls across the river Styx, but thankfully, there was no hooded figure at the helm. Instead, two tiny pixies guided the boat to the shore while they flew above it.
After a brief exchange of polite greetings, Lana and Claudia stepped into the boat and carefully sat down. Even though she knew how to swim, she preferred to wade into a nice, calm pool rather than venture into open water. Actually, deep water terrified her. That fear was exactly why she always turned down holiday invitations from her friends back home. Many of their families owned yachts, but no amount of luxury could convince her otherwise. The moment a boat left the dock, she wanted absolutely no part of it.
But she couldn’t exactly complain about that now.
They remained silent while the vessel drifted forward, its movement smooth and soundless as they cut a quiet path across the glassy surface of the water. Despite the easy ride, her heart felt like it was going to pound out of her chest. Fighting to control her nerves, she kept reminding herself that the pixies wouldn’t let her drown. She was expected at the prison, and people would worry if she didn’t show up.
The pale mist curled around the boat, swallowing the world around them until it felt as though they were suspended in time and place. As the outline of the prison began to emerge through the fog, the atmosphere shifted. The air grew heavy and dense. Pressure began pressing down on Lana’s chest, making it difficult to breathe.
There was something deeply wrong about the place.
Something that whispered danger.
Every instinct within her screamed to turn back, to demand the boat be steered anywhere but forward. The enormous silver castle felt less like a destination and more like impending doom.
Rather than heading toward the front entrance of the castle, the boat veered into a canal that slipped beneath the massive structure. The passageway was narrow and shadowed, the only illumination coming from the glowing blue water that shimmered with an eerie, magical light.
Overhead, high silver archways stretched in long, elegant curves, framing the glowing waterway. The pale stone walls were intricately carved with mythical creatures and ancient runes that pulsed with a quiet but undeniable power. The pixies guided the boat through a labyrinth of winding passages, each turn seemed more disorienting than the last. The canal flowed in unpredictable ways, as though designed to confuse and trap anyone unfamiliar with its path.
Time felt distorted as they floated down the twisting waterways. When they finally came to a stop, she had no idea how long they had been traveling. It could have been mere minutes or hours. Disembarking required a bit of balance and coordination since the boat slightly shifted beneath their feet, but the pixies held it steady enough for them to safely reach the stone platform.
Waiting for them was a small group of fairies. The guards wearing identical dark blue uniforms stood as still as statuesbehind two males dressed in flowing blue and silver robes. One of the males stepped forward and nodded in greeting.
“Welcome to the Supernatural Prison. I’m Warden Bloom, and this is Warden Crowe. We will be your escorts during your visit. Please come with us. You will need to go through processing before you are officially allowed to enter the prison.”
Gildor had already informed her about the process that she would be required to go through. Entry into the prison was nothing like the straightforward, restricted access granted to ordinary visitors. Since her purpose demanded far stricter scrutiny, the rest of the entry process was layered and deliberate, designed for those whose presence required discretion and careful monitoring.
Lana and Claudia followed the wardens up a set of stairs to a series of rooms, acutely aware that the guards trailed behind them like silent shadows. Since they had been told they couldn’t bring anything with them, they’d left all of their belongings back at the cottage they were staying in. They had been prepared for the strip search, but Claudia grinned at Lana’s pained expression when they were given silver guest uniforms to wear instead of being able to redress in their own clothes.
Lana was known to be quite particular about her clothing, but it wasn’t just because she was spoiled. Okay, that wasn’t completely true. She was spoiled, but she also had sensitive skin and couldn’t stand wearing certain fabrics. Thankfully, she didn’t have a problem with the uniform they gave her. The protective material felt as smooth as silk against her skin, and even the gloves they provided were comfortable and fit well. Although gloves weren’t an absolute barrier, they helped protect her from accidentally using her gift on someone.
The next step was much more difficult to get through. They were taken to another room where they were marked with a series of specialized runes in the form of intricate tattoos etchedinto the skin of their inner forearms. The tattoos were more than merely ornamental. Every individual who worked within the prison’s walls received the same markings.
The runes allowed the wearers to bypass certain protective wards while simultaneously blocking other spells, charms, and enchantments. Since there were so many protective measures meant to suppress, distort, or outright nullify power, the markings were the only reason anyone could use magic inside the building.
Even though it only took a few minutes, sitting through the tattoos on her arms was pure torture for Lana. The tattoos ran the entire length of both of her inner forearms, and it felt like each mark was being burned into her skin. She couldn’t even begin to decipher what the runes actually meant since they were ancient symbols that weren’t used anymore. Thankfully, the tattoos were only temporary and would fade once their time at the prison was over.
She was a little envious when Claudia didn’t even flinch while getting her markings, but it wasn’t her first tattoo rodeo. She already had a few. Added to that, the shifter loved fighting, so pain didn’t bother her.
