Page 157 of Wrath of the Fae

‘What if I fade?’

‘Then we’ll do what we did last time and keep you together,’ he says, as if obvious.

‘You almost died doing that.’

‘Almost. But didn’t.’

‘What if I go all scary again?’

‘You have two very willing blood banks at your disposal. Come on, Princess. Don’t be a pussy. Make a portal, or we may think you remade the Bond for love instead of stabilising your powers.’

‘You know what El says about pussies,’ I remind him, remembering her speech about the wonders of a vagina.

‘Apparently, she is very correct,’ Cyrus chuckles. ‘Yours can certainly take one hell of a pounding and still be utterly beautiful.’ I can hear him smirking. ‘I’ll rephrase. Don’t be a saggy pair of balls. Be a glorious pussy. Make a portal to me.’

Even Reid laughs softly as he stands behind me, his hands gripping my hips.

‘You can do it,’ he encourages.

‘Even if I can, I don’t know where the forest is. I’ve not seen it.’

‘I have. I’ll show you in my memories.’

The cave falls silent, yet I hear my heart thumping violently.

‘Tap into my emotions through our Bond,’ Reid whispers. ‘Take my calmness.’ He takes a deep breath and exhales. I feel it land on my skin, and a trail of goosebumps erupts all over. ‘I love that I can still do that to you,’ he muses, kissing the spot they started. ‘Can you feel me inside?’

‘Not as much as I would like to,’ I reply, smirking a little.

‘Focus.’

‘Sorry.’

‘Cling onto it like a thread and pull. Pull and pull until it’s all you can feel.’

I do as he instructs and feel him. I feel his confidence both in me and in them. They will protect and defend me no matter what if it does all go wrong. That they will keep me safe at any cost. He’s so certain. So absolutely sure.

He takes another breath, and I copy, pulling on that thread of serenity.

‘Portal,’ he says.

I summon my power as he cuts my palm over the healing wound. When I place it on the floor and the blood touches stone, there is a series of cracking sounds. In my darkness, I see the glow of those golden markings form on the ground before us, then more further ahead.

The air whips around us, and I hear it swirling into life. Faster and faster.

‘Good girl,’ Reid says softly. ‘You did it. There’s a portal in the ground ahead of us and one in front of Cyrus. How do you feel?’

‘I feel… I feel okay. Am I okay? My skin, is it-’

‘It hasn’t spread. You’re fine. Can you feel Ivan? Is he pulling you?’

‘No.’

‘Guess your Elder woman was right. Your markings aren’t spreading. You’re not fading. And there’s not a growl to be heard.’

I pull my hand away from the ground. The wind stops, and the golden markings fade. They don’t disappear, though. They just fall inactive and silent.

‘The markings are still etched in the stone,’ Cyrus says. ‘I think once you make the portal like this, it stays. That’s why there are still ancient portals. They’re formed in stone and nature. Not through you.’ I hear his feet shuffle.

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