They headed toward Persh’al’s SUV, parked beside Cheyenne’s new Panamera in the overgrown parking lot. The other O’gúleesh magicals filed into the SUV, and Cheyenne couldn’t help herself. Mattie passed the shiny black Porsche as Persh’al opened the passenger door for her, and the halfling reached into her pocket and pressed the automatic lock on the fob. The Panamera chirped, and Mattie jumped a little before spinning around to glance at the car.
Her gaze settled quickly on Cheyenne, who did everything she could to hold back laughter. “That’s yours?”
The halfling shrugged, but her grin finally broke through.
“Huh.” Mattie took one last glance at the car before climbing into the passenger seat of the SUV.
Cheyenne thought, Not the response I was looking for. She’s still pissed about me blowing her cover.
That wiped the grin off the drow halfling’s face as she climbed into the back seat behind Corian. He shot her a brief, almost apologetic shrug before she pulled the door closed behind her. Then she glanced into the last row of seats and jerked her thumb toward the goblins. “It’s a two-hour drive.”
“We’re good,” Byrd muttered, buckling his seatbelt. “I have my own window.”
Chapter Seventy-Seven
An hour into the drive, Persh’al pulled off the highway at a truck-stop exit. Corian thumped the back of the troll’s seat. “What are you doing?”
“I’m starving, man. And I’m not stepping into that clearing on an empty stomach again. Sorry.”
The Nightstalker leaned back in his seat. “I brought sandwiches.”
“And you’re the only one who had the time to eat.”
“Here we go,” Byrd quipped from the way back. “Somebody who’s looking out for the whole team.”
“Shut up,” Lumil muttered.
“Hey, you can do whatever you want,” Persh’al added. “I’m looking out for the only troll here, okay?”
Cheyenne fought back another smile and watched the truck stop grow closer as the SUV turned into a huge parking lot where some semis had stopped to refuel.
Persh’al parked in front of a Subway that shared a wall with a McDonald’s and turned off the engine. His illusion charm shimmered around his body, and a short, tanned human with a jet-black mohawk opened the door. “Gotta refuel. Then we’ll get right back into all the excitement. I promise.” He didn’t wait for anyone before walking quickly toward the door of the Subway.
“All right. Come on.” Byrd tapped the back of Cheyenne’s seat and nodded toward the passenger door. Both he and Lumil had activated their illusion spells and now looked like a couple of grinning Midwesterners back from a week of tanning on Florida beaches. “Pretty please, halfling? I need food.”
Cheyenne shucked off her seatbelt and got out, standing beside the open door while Byrd and Lumil squeezed past the seat folded halfway forward.
“You want anything?”
The halfling shook her head. Both goblins shrugged, then Corian finally got out of the car too and followed the others inside. Cheyenne waited for the passenger door to open. She’s not getting out, and I’m not tiptoeing around a Nightstalker. Even General Hi’et.
Cheyenne climbed back into the seat behind Mattie and closed the door. “Okay, look. I know you’re pissed. I did everything I could to keep them from finding you. I mean, short of smashing Persh’al’s rig into a million pieces.” Just the thought made her shiver. “I just want you to know I didn’t just give up your information without thinking about what you wanted. They found you on their own.”
“We both know they wouldn’t have if you and I didn’t know each other.”
The halfling’s gut twisted into knots, and Cheyenne breathed through the guilt. “Yeah. A lotta things have been happening to a lotta people just because they know me. But this one, Mattie? I mean, I’ve never made the crossing to either side, but the shit that came out of the portal… It was like fighting some kinda living nightmare.”
“Oh, I’m well aware of what exists in the in-between, Cheyenne.”
“Then you get why I came with them, right? I’m sorry I tricked you like that. It’s not how I would’ve done things—”
“Maybe not, but it’s exactly what I would have done in your situation.” Mattie grabbed the side of the passenger seat and turned fully around to meet the halfling’s gaze. “You played it out to the end because it was the right thing to do, even if it made you squirm. Don’t apologize for it.”
Cheyenne swallowed. “Okay.”
“I try not to make a habit of tooting my own horn, kid, but I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who can answer the burning question about this portal. And I genuinely hope, for all our sakes, the Crown uncovered even more dark and insanely powerful magic. The kind needed to rip open another Border portal. Otherwise…”
“Yeah, we’re all screwed. You mentioned that part already.”
Mattie chuckled and turned to peer through the windshield toward the Subway. They both saw Persh’al sitting at a table by the window, and the Nightstalker woman said, “We have a little time. Scoot over.”
“What?”
Mattie shoved open the door and got out to open the back passenger-side door and shoot Cheyenne an exasperated look. “Scoot.”
“Oh.” The halfling moved down the center row of seats, staring at the Nightstalker woman as Mattie closed the door again behind her.
“Now.” The woman’s green eyes glistened with awareness as she fixed them on her former student. “We have some time to set things straight, at the very least. Let’s not waste it.”
“I...don’t even know where to start.”
“I get that a lot. I’ll take over from here, then. Feel free to stop me if something comes to mind.” Mattie clasped her hands together and set them both primly in her lap. “I’m guessing the very first string tying this all together was when you overheard me talking to myself. You asked who Maleshi was, and I wasn’t prepared to answer that question. Now, I suppose, it’s a necessity.”
Cheyenne couldn’t help
