Page 55 of Slayer

I wasn’t sure if it was an arcanist thing or a cultural thing, but I didn’t want to disrespect her. My hands hovered uselessly at my sides.

She pulled out a silver wafer box and began to fiddle through it, her fingers precise and practiced. Finally, she pulled out a thin vellum parchment rectangle the size of my thumbnail.

“Stella, I spent all morning customizing this for you. I heard you got sick and blacked out your last portal?”

I felt my cheeks go hot. “Yeah, it was my first time,”

She smiled sweetly. “That’s totally normal, but this should help your body acclimatize. There are also runes to hide your scent for a few hours, but it’s hard to get the timing right, so just be as brief as possible in the mortal realm.”

I nodded, and she handed me the wafer, its surface cool against my skin.

“Anything for strength and speed?” I asked, hopeful.

She looked at Celia with a half-cocked grin. “Baby hunter is ready for the big stuff?”

‘Baby hunter.’

I knew she wasn’t being mean. She was smiling.

“Baby hunter took a Celestis Astra wafer and breathed fire two nights ago,” Celia told her.

Her eyes widened. “Holy sh—” She cleared her throat and turned back to me. “Maybe next time. For now, you will have to rely on Celia and Silex to protect you. You’re in good hands.” She winked.

I nodded and then opened my mouth, looking at Celia. She waved her hand as if encouraging me to put the parchment on my tongue, and I did.

“Asher, this will hide your scent as well.” Akari handed him a wafer, and I found myself staring at her neck tattoos. They weren’t runes. They were like normal tattoos you would get from the mortal world. One was a bright orange koi fish wrapped around blue water. Akari leaned into Asher and put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing. “I left some flowers on the seat for you in the train…” She cleared her throat.

Asher nodded. “Thank you.”

Flowers on the seat?

What?

We boarded the train, and the doors shut behind us with a solid thud.

The train car was empty, and my gaze instantly went to the wrapped bouquet of flowers as Asher bent to scoop it up and then sat with them on his lap, his jaw tight.

Who were the flowers for? A date?

I took a seat next to Celia, and she tapped something on her watch. “Take in a deep breath, Stella,” she told me.

I did, my heart hammering in my ears as everything went blue, the world tilting like I’d stepped onto a moving platform. I pinched my eyes shut, my stomach yanking slightly, but when I opened my eyes, we were still in the train car, yet it was moving on the tracks, smooth and steady.

“Grand Central Station,” a pleasing female voice said over the loudspeaker.

I looked at the passing station as we slowed, amazed that there were hundreds of people on the platform.

“We’re here?” I asked Celia.

I’d never been to New York. And the train ride portal had felt pretty seamless this time.

She nodded, standing as Silex stepped up next to her, hand on a stake at his belt. The car stopped with a jerk, and Asher and I stood, exiting into the crowd, the noise and motion swallowing us whole.

“Two o’clock,” Celia whispered to Silex.

“I see him. Just keep moving,” he told her calmly.

I swallowed hard when Celia’s hand slipped into mine and she tugged me toward the exit, her grip grounding.