13
Savannah
Unfortunately, getting to Delos required using a portal, a mode of transport with which I was still getting comfortable. I had no idea how some people used them for daily commutes—it felt like having your body disassembled and dumped into a washing machine, then put back together again.
Jaxson’s driver dropped us off downtown at the edge of Rain Bridge Plaza. It was like O’Hare Airport, except the lines were shorter, and you were less likely to lose your luggage.
The wide plaza was ringed with dozens of wrought iron archways. Long lines of people had formed in front of each of the gateways, traveling to and from destinations in the magical and non-magical worlds. One by one, they stepped through and disappeared, while every so often, a different person would step out the back of the doorway.
The real mind-bending feature of the place—aside from all the vanishing Magica, which I’d now come to take for granted—was the floating river that wound overhead, the Rain Bridge. It was a living sculpture that gently misted all the people who passed through.
I followed Jaxson as he headed to the front of one of the lines and glared. The people in line dutifully shuffled back to let us cut. In the past, an alpha stunt like that might have embarrassed me, but at this point, we were on our way to save the world. The foodie on his way to get fresh biscotti in Milan could wait a bit.
“I haven’t left Magic Side for a decade,” the loremaster said as she shuffled forward with her cane. “I’m ready for an adventure.”
I glanced back and arched my brows at Sam, who was standing beside the old woman, probably worried that she might stumble and break a hip. As if reading my thoughts, Sam’s lips tightened, and she shook her head.
I wasn’t sure how to properly act around the loremaster. She was old and wise and definitely to be respected, but she had a fierceness about her, and I didn’t want to coddle her.
I stepped to the side to let her go ahead.
She raised her eyebrows. “What? Age before beauty? Are you kidding me, child? You and the alpha are going first in case there are any beasts lurking on the other side.”
I flushed red, but the loremaster looked over at Sam and winked.
Jaxson entered the coordinates that Neve had given us using a dial on the side of the portal. The translucent veil covering the ringed doorway began shimmering in the afternoon sun. Jaxson’s lips pulled up slightly into a smile, and he offered me his hand. “Ready?”
His question was simple, but the way he looked at me implied so much more. Would I step with him into the unknown?
With a gaze that intense and smoldering, how could I not follow a man like him anywhere? I swallowed and took his hand. He continued to watch me, though his eyes betrayed a hint of delight.
Yeah, he knew how my body reacted to his attention.
He gave my hand a light squeeze that made my stomach summersault, and then we stepped through together.
With a rush of magic, the ether sucked us into the void of space. My stomach flipped for real as my body was pulled in countless directions. Just as I thought I couldn’t take it anymore, I stumbled out onto a set of narrow stairs beneath a night sky.
Nausea swam in my gut, and I doubled forward. My balance was shit, though, and my foot slipped, and I fell.
With a single fluid motion, Jaxson slipped his arm around my waist. “Steady, there.”
His heat pressed into me, and his eyes dropped to my lips. Hell, I was in trouble here.
My neck flushed, and I awkwardly peeled myself out of his grasp. “Thanks. That was a rough ride.”
“Minor portals like these don’t get a lot of use. The magic degrades if it’s not maintained,” he said, giving me an amused smile.
Clearly, he’d enjoyed catching my fall. I wasn’t sure if that annoyed me or made me wish we’d been somewhere private when it happened.
My gaze drifted to the stars and faint clouds above.
Right. Greece was hours ahead of Chicago.
I took a moment to inspect our surroundings as best I could in the dim light. Since I’d first shifted, my night vision was getting better and better.
We stood in an ancient well or cistern of some sort. Low walls of stacked granite slabs enclosed the water feature, their surfaces etched by dark watermarks.
I wasn’t sure how deep the green pool behind us was, but it looked stagnant. At least the portal hadn’t dropped us in the water. The only thing worse than wet boots were slimy wet boots.
Ascending after Jaxson, I emerged into a windswept landscape filled with standing columns and the crumbling ruins of countless ancient structures off in the darkness. My pulse quickened as the wonder and magic of the place buffeted the air around us.
I was broken from the spell by the loremaster’s grunt from behind.
“My fates! That portal had the jitters. Who do I complain to around here?” The huge grin on her face told me that she’d been absolutely unfazed by her trip through the ether. Sam laughed beside her, and I felt the heat on my neck spread. Why was I the only one who got portal-sick?
Footsteps approaching over the rocky ground pulled my attention, and I glanced over my shoulder. A bobbing light approached, and Jaxson stiffened as I put my hand up to shield my eyes from the glare.
The beam of light swept down to the ground, and after a second my vision adjusted, revealing a petite woman with a pixie haircut.
“You must be the people Neve sent. Welcome to Delos.” She had a faint accent and wore cargo pants and a white T-shirt that accentuated her sun-kissed skin and green eyes. “Sorry to keep you waiting. This place has been shut down for hours, and it took longer than I planned to get past the night guardsmen—even though they know exactly who I am.”
She flashed us a warm smile and extended her hand to me. Her signature smelled of earth and rosemary and felt cool and calm. I was immediately drawn to her, and I was sure it had everything to do with her magic, whatever she was.
“I’m Savy. This is Jaxson, Sam, and our loremaster. Thanks for meeting us so late at night,” I said, shaking her hand.
“Night is better,” Myrto shrugged. “Better than having you folks pop out in the midst of a tour group.”