Page 8 of The Princess of Portals

Wolf side-eyed him. I guess that was her way of telling him to take the melodrama down a notch.

“My mom shops at the Black Market, Marlow,” I said. “She’s not going to get mad at you because you brought me here too.”

“Of course she will. You don’t bring minors to illegal markets. Alara already thinks I’m a bad influence on you.”

I frowned. “She does? She hasn’t said anything about it to me.”

“It’s not so much about what she’s saying. It’s more about what she’s doing.”

“Which is?”

“Ghosting me.”

“She’s not talking to you?” I glanced at Wolf, who sighed. “Really?”

“I haven’t heard from her in over a week. She hasn’t answered any of my messages. And I left a lot of them.”

“Like how many?” I asked.

“Twenty…or more.” Marlow gave me a sheepish look.

“You left my mom more than twenty messages in a week?”

“More or less. But definitely more.”

I couldn’t help it. I laughed. Wolf buried her face in her paws. She was clearly embarrassed by her human’s lack of subtlety.

“I was worried about her.” Marlow was blushing now. It was so adorable. His worrying was even more endearing than his embarrassment.

I smiled at him. “Mom’s not ghosting you. She’s busy with some work thing in Paradise. I haven’t heard from her lately either.”

The worry lines marring Marlow’s forehead softened. His mouth contemplated a smile. “Well, then, in that case, let’s get down to business.”

We’d reached the Black Market. Today, it was hidden inside Killfield’s bushland, just past what remained of a formerly posh public garden. Feral, unchecked nature had taken over the garden. Nowadays, it could almost be called a jungle. It was nearly as wild as the neighboring wilderness. The Cutters didn’t come here to prune and pluck away at the disorder. There were too few of them to go around—and way too much disorder.

The perfect hiding spot for the Black Market.

Marlow took the lead, and I was happy to let him do it. The Black Market merchants trusted Marlow. He helped them. He traded with them. He was one of them.

The same couldn’t be said of me. Here, I was an outsider. Worse yet, I was an outsider affiliated with the Knights, who were commanded by the General. Most people revered the Knights, but they didn’t have much love for the Government. As far as everyone around here was concerned, the General equaled the Government, and for all intents and purposes, they were right.

“Why did you bring her along, Marlow? Don’t you know who she is?”

I smiled at the merchant, the tenth we’d talked to at the Black Market. He didn’t smile back. Yep, I was definitely feeling some hostility there.

“Of course I know who she is,” Marlow replied. “And so do you, Tak. That’s Savannah Winters, the girl who saved the Spirit Trees. If it weren’t for her, you’d be forever trapped here, cut off from your family in the Many Realms.”

Tak was a supernatural—an Alchemist, based on the eclectic clothing he was wearing and the assortment of enchanted goods scattered around his stall.

Not many supernaturals stopped by the Black Market, let alone set up shop there. For most of them, it was simply too risky. As Marlow had said earlier, this was an illegal market. If the Government caught any supernatural visitors hanging around here, they would deport them in a heartbeat. Since I’d arrived at the Fortress a few weeks ago, I’d gotten to know a few people from other realms. Most of them had come here for a fresh start. Many of them were hiding from the problems in their past. They couldn’t risk being sent home. So they put on their best behavior and tried to blend in.

“She certainly is a busy little thing.” Tak looked me up and down very, very thoroughly. Then he pulled a pair of enormous metal-framed goggles out of his jacket and repeated the movement. “My dear, you sparkle more than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that unusual comment.

“Uh…thank you.”

That’s the best I could manage. Savannah Winters: master orator and all-around sparkly gal.