Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 48193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 241(@200wpm)___ 193(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 241(@200wpm)___ 193(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
It is one thing to become stranded in a strange land while I have been sent on a mission. It is another thing to actively prolong my stay.
Both of us seem to be on our best behavior when I step out of the bathing room. We have a quiet, polite breakfast of tea and toast with jam, then Idalis seats herself at her worktable, and I take some of the crystals out of my pack and carry them out to charge under what little sun peeks from the storm clouds. The rain is a mere sprinkle now.
The heavy clouds that sat over the cottage for hours yesterday are gone, and the gray wisps they left behind are beginning to break up and let the sun through. Perhaps once the storm has passed, the portal will work.
I go over to the oven—it is well-made of sturdy stone—and arrange the smaller crystals, then hold up the one that is still humming so I can call my commander and give him an update.
Jorge’s face appears in the facet. It wobbles for a few beats, then resolves into sharper clarity than it had in the dark under the trees.
“Ryker. Can you hear me?”
“I can.” I answer. “I’ve found the witch, and she offered me shelter but cannot open the portal.” Jorge’s slight raise of his eyebrow doesn’t go unnoticed, and I wonder if it’s her hospitality or her lack of ability that gives him pause. “Do you have news of the portal?”
He shakes his head with a grimace. “From what we can tell, all the portals in the entire territory are down. It’s as if there’s been a cloak thrown over the area.”
“All across this land?”
“Yes,” he confirms. “None of the portals will open, and we can’t open one to come to you.” It’s surprising how dread doesn’t come with his words. Left alone in between enemy territory and at the mercy of the witch…
“All right.” I try not to let the relief I can’t explain show on my face. “Perhaps once the rain has cleared…if not I will find my way back alone.”
“That’s not an option, Ryker. It’s too dangerous for you to go alone.”
My jaw clenches and I don’t immediately respond. I’m aware of the danger but I cannot stay here forever.
“Is there a chance this could be the witch’s doing?” Jorge asks, his eyes distant, like he has been thinking this problem over all night, just as I have.
“I don’t think so,” I answer.
“No?”
“Not at all. She doesn’t want me here.” My wolf aches at the thought, curling up around a wounded spot in the center of him, as if he had actually been clawed open or cut with a weapon of sharpened steel. The tightness in my chest is shocking. I add, ignoring the wave of emotion, “She attempted to make a portal last night. Without success.”
Jorge ruffles a hand through his hair and looks past the crystal. I wonder what he sees on the other side, and would ask if I didn’t know this expression to mean he is thinking over the plan going forward.
“Perhaps,” he muses, after a minute. “It’s necessary to give fate time to heal whatever ails the territory. The storm may be a cloak itself. Let us let it pass.” His eyes meet mine in the reflection of the crystal, though his image wavers a little, as if it is caught in a strong wind. “If the trouble does not wane, we will come to you one way or another.”
I don’t expect to feel another wave of relief at Jorge’s words, but I do. Comfort at the thought of being alone with Idalis. My curious little witch. My gaze drops slightly at the thought.
My little witch who doesn’t wish to spend more time with me. If she could have, she would have sent me through a portal of her own making last night.
“But the wedding,” Jorge continues, and a growl catches in my throat. The wedding. I had intended to trade my service in gathering the florals in exchange for being excused from attending the ceremony. “You cannot miss it. We will recover you before then.”
I nod in understanding. “Yes, sir. I’ll stay here until it is safe to leave,” I tell Jorge firmly, as if I am agreeing with him, and end the call as soon as he nods at me so that we cannot discuss the wedding anymore.
As his face fades away, the breeze carries a heady floral scent to me, and my body hums with a new awareness of Idalis.
She’s behind me.
I gather the crystals in my hands first, then turn to face her. My shoulders straight and at attention.
“My commander wishes for me to stay here,” I repeat, because I think she has been listening for a minute or two. “So long, of course, as you will have me.” I swallow thickly as I catch sight of her. My breath leaves me. She is a vision with an umbrella held above her and the rain falling gently around her.