Page 69 of The Princess of Portals

“Would you rather I freak out about it?” He reached down, offering me his hand, and I took it, as if by instinct. “We’ve made it through battles, commandos, and Templars. We survived the burning of the Spirit Tree. We’ll make it through this too.”

“That’s a promise.” Kato offered me his hand, and I took it too.

“What about Harlyn?” I asked. “Did the General find him? Is he going to testify?”

Kato’s expression darkened. “The General found him all right. Or his body, in any case.”

“He’s dead?”

“Fenris is certainly working fast to tie up his loose ends,” Conner commented.

And just like that, the momentary spark of hope in my chest died.

The doors to the ballroom burst open. Soldiers rushed to meet the intruder.

“That’s nice. Now get out of my way.”

My head snapped around, toward the familiar voice. What the heck? What was she doing here?

Magic sizzled. The soldiers shouted out in alarm, and then Portia stood facing the Court. The soldiers were behind her, hunched over, clutching their heads. She’d passed right through them. Holy crap.

Portia took a few more steps, then stopped and addressed the Court. “Gaia didn’t kidnap the Apprentices. Prince Fenris did. And I can prove it.”

CHAPTER 5

TESTIMONY

Iwas surprised to hear Portia support my testimony. And so was the Court. But, regardless, she’d caught their attention. A third chair materialized.

Vela indicated the chair. “Please be seated.”

Portia obliged, looking confident and relaxed. I wish I could be confident and relaxed. Actually, I’d settle for confident or relaxed, but unfortunately both eluded me. I was so tired.

Vela, on the other hand, was as alert as a hawk on the hunt. “You claim Prince Fenris abducted the Apprentices from Gaia. You also claim to have evidence to back up this accusation.”

“He did. And I do.” Portia smiled, unruffled by Vela’s intimidating presence.

It made sense. Vela was a powerhouse, but Portia was in a league all her own, at least compared to the rest of us in this room. Portia was a Paragon of Magic—the Princess of Portals, to be exact. That made her the most powerful Dreamweaver in all the Many Realms. And she was also kind of a spirit. At least that’s what Capricorn had told me.

Come to think of it, where was Capricorn anyway? I hadn’t seen her or Scorpio since we’d escaped Fenris’s dungeon.

Vela glanced at the eleven members seated on their golden thrones. They nodded. They wanted to hear more. If nothing else, Portia had piqued their curiosity.

Vela looked at Portia. “Tell us what you know.”

I checked the hope rising inside of me. I couldn’t take any more disappointment today. Portia was the Princess of Portals and a powerful Dreamweaver. I just didn’t see how any of that would help us here. Did the Court members even know she was a Paragon? Unlikely. They weren’t treating her with any special reverence.

“Savannah Winters is telling you the truth,” Portia said. “Prince Fenris kidnapped the Gaian Apprentices and experimented on them.”

“And how can you know this?” Vela asked.

I was wondering the same thing. I hadn’t spoken more than a few sentences to Portia. She didn’t really know me. And she hadn’t been anywhere near the scene of the kidnapping or Fenris’s creepy castle where he’d been building his army.

Portia smiled. “Let me backtrack. It was Fenris who stole the Paragons’ spellbook from them.”

“The Paragons and their spellbook are just myths,” said Vela.

Ah, that answered my question. The Court didn’t know what Portia was because they didn’t even believe in the Paragons.