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Glancing around, I recognized where we were—the path from the last time I’d visited, as in the exact location of the portal that used to exist here.
“Is this a safe place to arrive?” I asked, flicking my gaze around for anything creeping up on us.
“I’m thinking it’s the safest,” Thane said. “Colin will think we’d open a portal closer to the Summer Court.”
I hoped he was right, but doubt still plagued my thoughts. Colin was anything but predictable, and he’d had plenty of time to snoop on us and study our behaviors before we caught on to him.
“As Veronica found out before, it’s easy to get distracted here,” Thane said to the group, winking at my scowl. “But whatever you see or hear, do not stray from the path. This realm is designed to trap visitors, especially those without a fae guide.”
Lena adjusted one of her vambraces. “Not everyone is as impulsive as V.”
I threw my hands up. Arguing with this crowd was pointless—they knew me too well.
Thane pointed down the path, which disappeared between the trees. “It wasn’t far in that direction that you said you met the stag. Let’s go.”
After giving Ivan a moment to memorize his surroundings so he could realm walk here safely in the future, the six of us headed deeper into the forest. Like my last visit, birds sang among the branches, their calls as unique as their colors.
Something new and exciting drew my attention and urged me to explore everywhere I looked. Only this time, I expected the allure, and I grinned when I caught Lena and Ivan holding hands, keeping each other on the trail.
As much as she boasted about her superior fighting skills, this wasn’t the kind of battle she was used to having.
We crossed the bridge spanning a bubbling brook, whose water tempted me to follow it to the ocean. Once back on the dirt path, I nudged Lena as she took a step into the grass.
She blinked at me and looked down, her mouth falling open. “I didn’t even realize…”
“Just my impulsiveness, huh?” I teased.
She gave me a sheepish look and let Ivan drag her back to the middle of the trail.
We continued a few more yards before Thane stopped us. He pointed into the trees. “This is where you disappeared.”
Kit stepped toward the edge of the dirt, her eyes narrowed as she scanned the woods. “What happened last time?”
“I looked over, and he was just…there,” I said with a weak shrug.
Now that we’d arrived and no stag was in sight, my confidence in him showing up again waned.
“You’re sure it was here?” Lena gripped her sword’s hilt, though it remained sheathed.
Thane and I nodded. It wasn’t easy to forget such a pivotal moment in our lives—for me, meeting the stag, and for Thane, thinking he’d lost my crazy ass to the fae woods.
“Maybe we need to find him this time, out there,” I suggested, pointing to the trees. “All of us. Safety in numbers, right?”
Thane and Kit exchanged glances, but Kit tightened her lips and nodded. “We’ve come this far. We need that dagger.”
“Everyone needs to buddy up, take someone’s hand.” Thane pointed at Ivan. “You’re with V again.”
The phoenix nodded and threw his arm around my shoulders with a grin. As much as I hated not having Thane by my side through this entire adventure, I knew he would dig in his heels on this issue.
But afterward, he needed to get over this insecurity and stop hoisting me off onto other people. Besides Kit, I was the strongest one here, even if Lena claimed she could kick my ass.
When we had someone’s grip in one hand and a weapon in the other, we stepped off the path. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting to happen, but I breathed a sigh of relief when nothing did. Being so nervous about a forest felt silly, yet I knew how tempting the magical call was.
Thane and Lena led the way, his scythe slicing a narrow trail through the tangled undergrowth. It probably wasn’t a wise idea to harm anything growing here, but the foliage was too thick and spiky to pass through otherwise.
I wasn’t sure how I’d gotten through the first time, but I was willing to bet the stag had something to do with it. If my memories were correct, I’d basically waltzed through to him, which was what Kit had accused me of.
As the forest closed around us the deeper we went, I glanced back. A shiver ran up my spine, and I gulped.
