Forrest grabbed my hand and led me toward the portal.
“Wait. Nocturna and Astra. We can’t leave without them!” I cried, placing my hand on his chest.
He looked at me, puzzled. “Where did they go?”
“They dragged off a couple of the men who were attacking you into the trees. I’d rather not think about what they could be up to right now.”
Just then both mountain cats sauntered back into the clearing, looking satisfied with themselves, their maws stained with blood.
Forrest looked down at me, a wry smile spreading across his battered face. “Looks like they were getting into some bloody good trouble,” he said, amused.
I pulled the glowing skeleton key out of my pocket and placed it in the keyhole. Turning the knob, I looked up at Forrest and smiled. “And now we step into the unknown.”
Chapter 13
Hand in hand, Forrest and I each took one step into the portal, and with another, we successfully exited through to the other side. I looked around, apprehensive, expecting something or someone to pop out at us, but there was nothing. Just as we took another step away from the portal, the door closed with a locking sound, and it transformed back into the vine tunnel.
I looked up at Forrest, and my eyes welled. His lips rested on my forehead as I let all my feelings out. Sadness, rage, guilt, and grief regarding the life I’d now lost, spilling out of me and onto Forrest’s chest.
“Hey. It’s all right. I’ve got you,” he whispered into my ear. His voice was calm and soothing. He gently held my face in his hands. “We did it, Aurelia.” He leaned in and placed soft, tender kisses on my forehead and the back of my hands.
I wrapped my arms around him and held him as tight as I could. He was right. We had done it.
Pulling away from Forrest, I took in our surroundings. “I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I thought going through a portal would be more eventful than that.”
He chuckled at me. “I would have thought an uneventful passage into another realm was kind of what we would want, no? Especially given what just happened on the other side.”
I patted his chest. “I suppose you’re right.”
The portal was situated in a clearing similar to the one we hadjust left. A forest also surrounded it, but this one not only looked different but felt different. My body vibrated and thrummed as I allowed the foreign magic to flow through me. The trees towered above us like monoliths, their trunks pale and smooth, soft silver leaves gently swaying in a wind I could not sense. It felt like the forest was a living, breathing entity. Moonlight filtered through the canopy, casting silver light on the moss-covered forest floor. I knelt down and ran my fingers over the soft, sparkling moss. I smiled as I stood up to take my boots off. As I stepped barefoot on the carpet of moss, it pulsed faintly with a familiar warmth. I could hear the calming sounds of a nearby flowing stream. As if summoned by the water’s melody, I made my way over to it. The water sparkled like it was covered with millions of diamonds. Tiny flying glow bugs lined either side of the stream.
I pinched myself as I took in the sights and sounds. I felt like I was in a dream. There was no way this place could be real. I went over to the edge of the stream and peered down into the water. The bloodied face staring back at me was the one I recognized as my own, yet I could tell that something fundamental about this woman had changed. Tucking a small section of hair behind my ear, I froze. The woman staring back at me in the water looked scared and confused. I turned my head to look at my ear. Where it once had rounded edges were elongated points. I reached my hand up for physical confirmation, but as I ran my fingers along the top of my ear, I found nothing but a smooth, rounded tip. Pulling my hair back, I looked at my reflection again. My ears appeared to have returned to normal. I stared at my reflection, unblinking.
Where were we? My heart began to race as the various possibilities ran through my mind. Tonight I had discovered that the weird vines I had found Forrest in front of was actually a portal. Magda had been magically bound from telling me where that portal led. Could it be? It was impossible. Right? Or was it totally reasonable to think that we may have ended up wherever it was Forrest came from?
I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths while I listened to the sounds of the forest, trying to centre myself. Just as my thoughts started to wander toward spiralling again, I was brought back to the side of the stream by something wading into the water. I opened my eyes to see Astra paddling about. Nocturna followed her sister. Smiling at my two girls splashing about, I decided to join them. I tiptoed into the stream, bent down, and splashed handfuls of the crisp, clear water on my face. The brisk cold was like a reset for my mind, bringing me back to the present and dispelling whatever muddled thoughts had been swirling about in my head beforehand.
Nocturna, Astra, and I made our way back toward the clearing after they finished playing. We found Forrest sitting in front of a roaring fire with our sleeping rolls set together on the other side. I sat down on the ground next to Forrest.
He handed me some dried apples and meat on a handkerchief. “Dinner is served,” he said with a mocking flourish.
“Thank you. It looks amazing.” I leaned over and planted a kiss on his lips. “After we eat, we should take care of whatever injuries you have. I don’t have all my healing aids with me, but I have enough of the basics to take care of your bruising and any pain,” I said, as I ripped off a piece of dried meat.
“I don’t feel too bad, if I’m being honest, but it would probably be a good idea if you gave me the once-over,” he said as he wiggled his eyebrows at me.
“You’re incorrigible,” I said between chews.
“I think what you meant to say was ‘Wow, Forrest. You’re so irresistibly charming.’”
I swallowed and smiled. “Yeah, that was what I meant.”
We ate the remainder of our small dinner in silence. Exhaustion was weighing heavily on both of us. We made our way over to the sleeping rolls so I could look over Forrest’s injuries. Most of the bruising on his face was already resolving. He had just a few scratchesthat needed to be cleaned. He removed his shirt, exposing a myriad bruises on his chest and back. The fight hadn’t lasted very long, but that hadn’t prevented the men from leaving their mark on Forrest.
“Those assholes,” I muttered, rubbing arnica salve on the large bruises covering Forrest’s chest. “I wish they had all died for what they did to you.”
Forrest reached out and gently held my hand. “I’m sorry for not doing a better job of protecting you,” he said, sadness falling across his face. “None of those men should ever have had the opportunity to raise their hands to you. I failed you, and I’m sorry.”
“We were outnumbered. You did everything you could. I should have done more. I was completely useless.” My eyes started to water as my body betrayed me with more tears. “When they all attacked you, I was so scared and angry. I could feel my magic welling up inside me, like it was waiting for a release. That’s when I noticed the darkness in the clearing. It felt alive, like it was this tangible entity. In my mind, I imagined it creeping over and choking the life out of those men… and then it did.”
