Page 129 of Cerulean Truth
She frowned. “Why? What’s changed?”
I hesitated. The words, “because I realize I’m falling for you,” didn’t exactly roll of the tongue, so I chickened out. “Nothing’s changed. I just don’t see the point of keeping you away from them anymore.”
I could see the doubt in her eyes, but other emotions instantly filled her expression: excitement, happiness, hope. And I never wanted to see anything else etched on those features.
“The Council is going to find out. There’s no way we can just leave Cyclos without them knowing.”
A wide grin spread across my face. “Then I guess this is a great time to start your practical portal lessons.”
THIRTY-THREE
EMMA
I could barely contain the overwhelming excitement bubbling within me. Finally, the long-awaited moment had arrived—I was about to reunite with my parents after more than four months of separation. The ache of missing them had grown almost unbearable, and the prospect of seeing them again filled me with an indescribable joy. Adding to the thrill, James would be accompanying me.
James would be meeting my parents… I almost jumped out my own skin when he agreed to it.
That is, if I managed to portal us there. This was the third time we were trying it out, and although the thrill of teleportation never wore off, I fervently hoped the saying "third time's a charm" would hold true.
James was going to be the one translating the green portal once again, seeing howhewas an absolute master at it, while I still couldn’t translate a cup of coffee to save my own life.
But Ihadgotten a handle on working the Nexus, so today’s exercise was all about navigating the green drops and steering us the right way through James’s portal.
Despite my obvious confidence, a lingering nervousness fought its way to the surface.
The last time we tried, we ended up at the New York Central Park Zoo, courtesy of Enya who couldn’t stop talking about it right before portaling, making sure that’s where my mind went as soon as James and I stepped through his portal.
I liked the New York Zoo, so I didn’t really mind. James however, ended up in a cage with a very disgruntled monkey, who flung his own feces at the intruder. Although I’d been two seconds away from a pants-peed situation from laughter, James had been less than thrilled with his "craptivating" New York experience.
Shoveling down my breakfast like an ogre, I managed to be on time for our training. I met up with James at our regular the training room, the familiar flashy color of his green portal welcoming me from across the room.
"Ready?" James asked encouragingly.
"Like you wouldn’t believe!" I replied, barely containing my enthusiasm. Without a moment's delay, I directed my attention to the vibrant green drops emanating from the Nexus, anticipating they would lead us through the portal to Boston—provided I succeeded.
“Now, remember. All you have to do is focus on the location of your parents andwillus to go there,” James ordered.
Inhaling deeply, I conjured a vivid image of my childhood home in my mind.
“Boston, Boston, Boston,” I repeated like a mantra, concentrating intensely.
I closed my eyes and, seeking some kind of connection, I grabbed James’s hand, squeezing it firmly as we jumped through the portal. I tried to “will” all my focus onto the green drops but when the green vortex engulfed us, I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling something was off.
In a split second, the refreshing gush of the portal faded, and we found ourselves standing back on firm ground. However,As I gradually opened one eye, I observed a renowned historic Spanish fortress standing before us. I frowned.
“Is that…?” I inquired hesitantly.
James sighed deeply. “The Alamo, yes.”
I cursed myself to the highest peaks of the Rocky Mountains. We weren’t in Boston, as I had intended. Instead, we found ourselves in Texas.
“Houston, we have a problem,” James muttered, shooting me a pointed look.
Funny.
“Technically, we’re in San Antonio,” I replied dryly.
James sighed, his patience wearing thin. “Either way, we’re not in Boston, are we? Emma, this is the third time in a row. How hard is it to think about your parents' house? You fucking grew up there!"
