Page 6 of Midnight Reign
The ground continues to tremble, and the chasm is now a gaping maw, threatening to consume everything around it.
Then, it stops.
The screeching of the stones, the tearing of the earth, the mist. It all dies down, and we are left in what used to be an ancient stone circle but is now clearly a temple of sorts, with that portal flickering in mid-air before it vanishes like someone zipped it up from the other side.
“Uhm,” Adelaide mutters, staring at it, unblinking. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Wish we knew,” I murmur, holding her even closer. “Are you okay?”
She tears her gaze away from the place where the portal was to mine and smiles. “Well, I’ll live if that’s what you mean.”
“Not fucking funny, Dollie. You scared the fucking crap out of me.”
“And me,” she murmurs.
“We need to get out of here before this whole place comes crashing down, or that portal decides to reopen.”
Ignatius nods in agreement. “Let’s move.”
Zaiah conjures a portal, his white eyes glowing with effort. “Everyone, get in.”
We waste no time, staggering through the portal and emerging into a familiar place: MistHallow University grounds.I breathe a sigh of relief as I set Addy down gently on the soft grass.
Zephyr collapses next to her, his breathing ragged and his eyes still bleeding. I frown, concerned about his injuries. “Zeph, are you okay?”
He nods weakly, managing a small smile. “I’ll live. Just need a moment to recover.”
Ignatius and Zaiah exchange worried glances, but they say nothing.
Searching the surrounding area for any threats, Strix, or anything else that might launch at us, I see nothing but destruction. Students are hurt and bleeding. Staff nursing injuries and helping others.
“Where are Ellis and Blackthorn?” I mutter.
“Blackthorn!” Addy shouts and gets to her feet unsteadily. “He was at the stone circle. He and Randall had a huge fight. Randall struck him with magick, and he went down. I think he was there to save me, not hurt me as I first thought.”
“What?” I ask, trying to process her rambling.
She shoves her hands into her hair, clearly in distress. “Blackthorn was hurt. We need to find him.”
“I’m here, Miss Black,” a croaky voice says behind us.
We turn to it and see Blackthorn staggering out of the forest, a large hole in his chest that is slowly healing.
“You’re alive!” Addy says and flings herself at him, but then stops short and steps back. “Were you there to hurt me or save me?”
He gives her a scathing glare, which I snicker at. “Save, obviously, and nearly met my end for my troubles.”
“I’m sorry,” she exclaims, tears filling her eyes.
“No, no,” Blackthorn says, patting her awkwardly on the shoulder. “That’s not your fault.”
“Where did the portal lead?” I ask, trying to draw the conversation back around to the matter at hand.
“A place that no one from this realm should ever have attempted to open up,” he says, his voice the sound of doom if I ever heard it.
“And it’s called?” I prompt when he doesn’t say anything else.
“None of your fucking business, Sanguine,” he snaps. “Forget what you saw.”
