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“Hopefully, but I wouldn’t count on it.” Sucking in a breath, I stick out my hand. “Are you ready for this?”
“No.” But he places his hand against mine anyway and utters, “Make us a portal that takes us to Porter.”
Foster
I know we don’t have a lot of options right now, but getting Porter’s help with this is one of the last things I wanted to do. It’s not like I don’t like my brother, but ever since the incident where he tried to travel through a secured magical signal without practicing first, he hasn’t been the same. The attempt to remove his spirit from his body altered his body, soul, and mind and he actually died for a moment because of it. When he came back to life… Well, he was never the same. And not just because his personality had changed. No, in order for him to come back, he had to become another creature. A creature that can sometimes be dangerous if he loses control of his desires.
I try not to focus on this, though, as Easton and I struggle to create a portal in the middle of the living room of the cabin. We’re a little shaky when it comes to creating portals without a precise location, and it doesn’t help that Sky’s powers are causing chaos to blow all over the room. But somehow we manage to get a fairly strong portal circling in front of us as we combine our powers.
Once a circular rainbow tinted-light portal is steadily formed, I withdraw my hand from Easton’s.
“I hope it leads to the right place,” I utter one of my worries aloud.
“I’m sure it w
ill,” East says, pushing to his feet.
I’m not sure if he believes his words, since East is usually the optimistic one in these types of situations. I used to believe that’s how he was, but over the last handful of days, I’ve felt his sadness occasionally flickering down the link, and it makes me question if perhaps my twin brother puts on a façade. I haven’t had time to bring it up to him, though, but eventually I’m going to. Even if he is attracted to Sky and annoying me right now, he’s still my brother and I care about him.
“I’m assuming you want to carry her through the portal,” East says to me, that sadness briefly seeping through the link.
Nodding, I move to pick Sky up, but pause when a revelation smacks me across the face.
I step back and yank my fingers through my hair. “Fuck, how are we supposed to get her through the portal? We can’t touch her without darkness slipping into us too.”
He frowns but then his eyes light up. “Maybe we could put her on a blanket and pull it through.”
“How are we supposed to get her onto the blanket, though?” I point out, throwing a panicked glance over my shoulder at the portal.
The longer it stays open, the more likely the god of darkness can get through. We do have some time since right now we’re controlling the entrance. But the moment we step inside, all bets are off. I still think we were right to do it this way, though, instead of bringing Porter to us. Not only would that allow all sorts of creatures to be sucked through the portal with him, but it’s dangerous to suck someone through a portal without them knowing. We could always try to track Porter down and bring him to us, but that takes time. Plus, like East said, this world has been screwing with his powers and could do the same thing to Porter.
East glances at Sky and any of his calmness dissipates. “Shit, why didn’t we think about this before we opened the portal?"
“Because we were panicking,” I tell him, pacing in front of Sky. “We need to stay calm so we can think straight.”
“I am calm,” he lies, his hand lowering to his side. “You’re the one that’s freaking out.”
I don’t point out that I can tell he isn’t calm, that his anxiety is flowing down the link in sharp, zappy waves.
“We need to figure out a way to move her without touching her.” I scan the room as if there’s some sort of solution hidden somewhere.
All I see, though, is snow drifting from the cloudy ceiling, lightning zapping against the icy floor, a fire crackling in the corner of the room, and the wind is swirling fragments of the elements through the air.
I frown at the sight. As much as I love this world, mostly because it kind of felt like it was created by Sky and me, it might be a good thing we’re leaving because I’m pretty certain this place is about to get swept away by the elements…
An idea suddenly occurs to me, a risky one so I don’t immediately say it aloud. I’ve never been much of a risk taker, and my instincts tell me to figure out another, much safer, plan. But after a handful of seconds tick by and nothing else comes to me, I realize Easton was right when he said that riskiness might be our only option, as much as it goes against all of my instincts, especially the ones I have toward Sky.
“You remember that one time we created that wall of ice that moved like a wave?” I say, turning to East.
His brows briefly knit but then rise to his hairline as what I’m suggesting clicks.
Then he snaps his fingers. “You know what? That might work.”
I’m more apprehensive about it, though.
“It’s risky. We’ll have to walk behind the wave and use our powers the entire way through the portal. And if we end up losing track of her or our powers, and the ice melts for even a second…” I gulp audibly.
“Yeah, I can see your point…” He stares at the portal, deliberating. “We can do it, though,” he says, looking back at me with determination. “We’re strong enough—I know we are. Plus, we both care about Sky enough that we’ll make sure we won’t fuck this up.”
