“Where’s your escort?” I joked, noticing her entourage was gone.
“They’re working,” she said. “But I see you’ve brought yours.”
Alarick growled, but I just laughed. “These are wolves looking for mates. Not me.”
“If you say so,” she said with a grin. “But I’d take them all, if I were you.”
“Well, you’re not her,” Alarick grumbled.
Cayenne and Malik joined us, and we started down the other side of the mountain into the witch valley. Every time I thought of what lay ahead, my palms got sweaty and my stomach dropped out like I was on a rollercoaster. Astrid skipped ahead, swinging around trees and singing in a high, musical voice, again reminding me of a child—or a princess from a Disney movie.
“Why is there a lighthouse here?” Alarick asked, glancing back over our shoulder.
“A sea witch brought it,” Cayenne said. “She locked Astrid up in there for, like, sixteen years. That’s why she’s so… Astrid.”
“Well, that explains a lot,” I admitted.
“You should have seen her when she first came out,” Malik said, shaking his head and smiling.
“Do you know of anywhere else we might find wolves?” Alarick asked, linking his hand through mine and helping me down a small rock ledge.
“Sure,” Astrid said from ahead, leaping up onto fallen log and running along it, her banner of hair rippling out behind her. She whooped and jumped off the other side. “But not in Midgard.”
“Where?” I asked, frowning.
“Oh, that’s this world.” She stood waiting, winding her hair up while we all climbed over the log in a much more orderly fashion. Her way looked more fun, though. “I should mention, I’m not just a shifter. I’m also part goddess. I’ve been to three other worlds so far, but my bucket list is to visit the other six. Do you know about bucket lists?”
“Wait, let’s go back to the part about the other worlds,” I said, excitement building as I remembered the vampires’ explanation of my powers. “You know how to get there?”
“Sure,” she said. “There’s an entrance in the Third Valley. Some other godlings showed it to me. I helped them save the world.”
“Um, okay,” Donovan said, looking at her like she was crazy. “And there are wolves there?”
“In at least one of them,” Astrid said before bounding down the hillside, her hair now piled up in a beehive-type style that towered above her tiny frame.
“Mr. Ravenwood said I was a world walker,” I said to Alarick. “I’m pretty sure Delilah is there. They were talking about her, and that the only way I could have seen her was to have whatever gift I have. Apparition, or whatever Cayenne called it.”
“You think she’s still alive?”
“I’m sure of it,” I said before turning to his brothers. “Maybe I can bring you guys through, too. We’ll find your mates. I promise.”
“I’m up for some otherworldly adventuring,” Adolf said, excitement flashing in his eyes. “That sounds pretty epic to me. I was going crazy stuck at Ravenwood all those years.”
“Oh,” I said, realizing I hadn’t said anything to Alarick about Brooklyn’s confession. I thought about not telling him, but he had a right to make the decision as much as I did. So, I filled him in as we descended into the valley, glad to have something to distract me from thinking about what lay ahead. I was relieved when he agreed that he didn’t care about a test. We were both sure we belonged together, regardless of what fate might or might not have to say about it. We were choosing each other, choosing our own fate.
As we entered the community in the valley, I kept looking around at the small log-and-stone houses, trying to remember anything. I’d been a baby when I’d been taken, but I’d hoped some subconscious familiarity would linger. Nothing jarred even the faintest memory, though.
We passed a large stone well, the old-fashioned kind with a bucket hanging above it and a little roof overhead. I recognized that from my dream, but nothing else. Astrid darted off to see a friend, and Cayenne led us through a gate and up a quaint stone walkway to a big house with cedar siding and a green tin roof.
“This is my parents’ house,” she said, pushing open the door. The sound of chaos instantly enveloped us. Seemingly oblivious, Cayenne waded into the herd of mostly-redheaded children who came running to greet her. From what I could tell, their ages ranged from about two to twenty. There must have been at least a dozen of them. And all of them seemed to be buzzing with some kind of tingling energy that crept along my arms and into my chest. Head spinning, I gripped Alarick’s hand.
“Cayenne,” said a petite redheaded woman, emerging from another room to greet us. “I didn’t know you were coming over.” She waded through the kids to hug Cayenne and reach up to kiss her cheek. She looked about forty.
The buzzing in my blood ratcheted up a notch, and my knees went weak.
My mother.
“Timberlyn, this is my mom, Sagely,” Cayenne said. “Mom, this is Timberlyn. You and my dads are going to want to talk to her somewhere private.”
“Oh,” Sagely said, turning to me. Our eyes met, and for a moment, the air seemed to leave the room. “Only Quill and Fox are home. Should we wait?”
“I don’t think you’re going to want to wait for this,” Cayenne said.
“Okay,” Sagely said, still staring at me funny. The buzzing of magic was vibrating through every cell in my body.
Cayenne led the kids outside, and suddenly, the room felt empty and too quiet without them. Footsteps sounded on the wooden floor, and a moment later, an attractive guy with a blond ponytail appeared, and the buzz
