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“Come along,” Malachi called over his shoulder.
Reese and I exchanged a look. I was sure our expressions mirrored each other’s as we trailed after him.
My head swiveled from left to right as I struggled to take in everything I could see. Illuminated by candles, lamps, and artificial lighting from the stalls alike, the church’s interior seemed to glow gold and white. It felt like I’d stepped directly into ancient Greece with its high arches, even higher ceilings, and giant support columns. The pews were perfectly glossed, the mahogany looking freshly polished despite their years of use.
I was hypnotized, ensnared by the magic of it all—because it had to be magic that had preserved a place as old as this one so well.
“It’s incredible,” Marilyn breathed. “Holy shit.”
“It’s one of the ports,” Malachi informed us. He then huffed at our clear confusion. “Ourtransportationports. Keep up.”
He took a sharp left towards a booth with no line. The owner—a short, plump man with a head of thick, lilac hair—stood up when he spotted Malachi approaching.
Sariel glanced at Neo. “What the hell is a transportation port?”
Michaelson’s eyes glimmered with excitement. “And why is it in a church?”
This was the most emotion I’d seen from him since he’d spoken with Sariel. Hope blossomed down the blond in a soothing pulse that tugged a smile onto my face.
“An architectural masterpiece that has been slowly upgraded without changing its true gothic perfection,” Johnny added dreamily.
Marilyn’s lips twitched up as he turned towards the altar and moved to step in that direction. “You can have an orgasm about it in a second. Right now, we need to see what the fae man is up to.”
Sariel nudged Neo. “Well?”
Neo shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“Neither do I,” Marilyn admitted, her gaze following Johnny’s. “I’m as lost as you.”
Malachi motioned us closer, and my stomach lurched. I had a terrible feeling about this. My wolf wasn’t happy.
Sariel gave me a quizzical look, his brows furrowing as I pressed my palm to my stomach.You good?
I swallowed.Just anxious.
“Anxious” was apparently my default emotional setting these days. This could not be good for my health in the long run. Between my wolf’s ability to keep me hyper-vigilant and the incessant need to look over my shoulder every time we’d made some progress, I was one more inconvenience away from needing to be sedated for my own health.
I tried to keep the true extent of my anxiety from Sariel. The last thing I needed was for him to be worried about anything other than fixing up his relationship with his brother.
“This is Jarroh,” Malachi announced. “He’ll be taking us to the next port.”
Jarroh grunted noncommittally before he swept us forward with a wave of his hand. “This way,” he said, his ambiguous accent similar to Jae’s, and stepped out from behind his stall to lead us to the side, where an ornately decorated door stood.
“Is that white oak?” Johnny observed.
“And mountain ash,” Neo added.
“Yes,” Jarroh said. “Mountain ash and white oak. Strong. Keep safe.”
We tensed. Sariel reached for my hand and stepped closer to his brother.
“Keep safe?” Marilyn questioned. “Keep safe from what? What’s on the other side of that door?”
“It’s nothing to worry about. Portal Transportation has been deemed safe for centuries now,” Malachi answered dismissively.
“Time travel,” Jarroh grunted. “It is time demon.”
Reese blinked just as Malachi glared at the plump man. “Excuse me?”
