Page 129 of Dark Haven Omegaverse

The ego on these pages was enough to put the worst narcissists to shame.

“I’m done, I can’t read this shit anymore,” Roman said as he added his to the pile.

He was easing his way back to us more and more. It wasn’t quite the same, he was still holding back, but I hoped treating him the same as before would reassure him more than my words could.

“This is useless.” He punctuated his words with a groan as he stretched his body out. I barely stopped myself from checking him out, still marveling at how different he was from Hiro. Somehow even his body seemed stronger, wider, than his counterpart.

“I’m still trying to get into these files,” Crew said from the table.

Layne was sitting on the window seat behind him, looking out the window. She had slipped into another episode, and I was afraid to see what would happen if it got over our heads.

Drew was now useless, and I didn’t know if the other floor she went to was safe.

“Drake is looking for more,” I said with a long sigh. “Maybe it’ll prove useful to us.”

“Go to the portal.”

The voice had me glancing around. Was it another hallucination?

“Who said that?” I asked.

“What?” Roman asked, his hand going to my thigh like he did when one of us needed to ground ourselves. He moved in close enough to breathe in his campfire and smoke scent but it didn’t cut through the strange words as they came again.

“Someone said to go to the portal,” I hissed. “It sounded like?—”

The common room faded to the throne room I’d seen before, my words cutting off.

“It was me,” Hel said with annoyance. “Go to the portal, Harlow, if you want more answers. Your time is swiftly approaching, and you need to be ready to close it.”

“Except you won’t fucking tell me how to close it!” I yelled out at her. The connection was wavering, and I wasn’t sure if she could even hear.

“Go.”

I was dismissed. The world faded back in and Roman was squeezing harder, trying to get me back.

“You with me?”

“Hel wants me to go to the portal,” I said. My eyes were wide as I took him in, trying to convey my fear to him. The things I couldn’t and wouldn’t say out loud.

What if I wasn’t enough to do what Hel needed? What if I couldn’t save us all.

“How do you know it was real and not just your mind?” Layne asked from the window, finally turning our way. Here I thought she was tuning us out.

“It’s different there. Everything feels sharper. Cold. Scents. The colors. All of it is more intense. My hallucinations don’t usually change scenery,” I admitted.

“Then let’s go,” Roman said. “Call your demon or something. We shouldn’t approach without backup. Who knows what’s waiting for us.”

“Monty!” My voice echoed in the room. He popped in a moment later in a flourish of shadow and stormy air.

“Hel just came to me. She wants me to go to the portal,” I explained in a rush.

“This can’t be good. But ignoring her will only make her suspicious. You ready?” Monty asked me.

I nodded, relieved he didn’t even question that he was joining us.

Instead of using the elevator, he reached for me. On instinct, Roman latched onto my arm just as he whisked me away.

The darkness surrounded us like a cold cloud before it dissipated, revealing the portal in front of me. The gargoyles were already surrounding it, claws out and crouched in defensive stances.

---