I took a deep breath and stepped below it. My legs bunched, and I pushed off the floor. A yelp escaped as I went flying up. Rian pulled me up before I fell back down, and I stumbled to my feet next to him. I followed him, disoriented. The fresh air wafted to my face when I stepped through the door he opened and faced the bordering of the boundary wall. Trailing beside it, we arrived at the door Conan was leaning against.
“Good luck,” Conan said.
I nodded to him as he waved us through. Rian nudged me forward. I picked up my speed, glad I had access to my Fae enhancements. I headed past the bordering wall and straight into the thicket of the vined foliage.
Rian stopped beside me and tilted his head, searching for a portal. Several seconds passed before he sprang into action. “A portal just appeared. Think of your friend’s location.”
He took off before I could answer. I huffed and sprinted after him, twisting through vines and greenery, surprised at my fluid motions. My Fae instincts were coming in handy. I inhaled sharply, focusing all my senses into my surroundings. It wasn’t until then that I realized how much Ty’s meditation lessons helped with the sensory overload. Rian repeated the question, and if I didn’t have my Fae senses, the words would have disappeared with the wind.
From ahead of me, Rian slowed and grabbed my arm before going through the twining portal trees and throwing us into the other side. I understood the need to hurry considering how sporadic portals appeared and their finicky tendencies, but geez, was the manhandling necessary?
I concentrated on Texas as we went through the portal. I landed on my face and groaned from the impact. It hadn’t hurt as much as it could have, but the dirt in my mouth was far from pleasant. I sputtered and pushed to my feet. Rian stared around impatiently.
“Was that necessary?” I ground out.
“Yes, the portal was closing.”
I opened and closed my mouth, feeling like a fish. He didn’t wait for me as he strode away in a smooth motion. “Hey! Do you have a problem with me?”
He didn’t answer, just kept walking. I grabbed his arm. It took me a second to drag him to a complete stop. He sighed and turned impatiently. “Is there a reason for the delay?”
“Tell me what’s wrong,” I demanded. “And don’t say nothing. I can tell there’s something.”
“I think your choice is idiotic. As I said, you’re running and, in doing so, risking the only thing that could unbind magic—you.”
“You heard Conan. The goblins wanted to talk to me—”
“That’s bullshit.”
I scoffed. Both at what had just come out of Rian’s mouth and the quickness of it.
He placed his fingers at his temples. “I am just worried,” he said and sighed. “We need to get going.”
Despite his attempt at leading me off track, I understood he was stressed. Here he was, an old being that had his people’s livelihood resting on a half-breed twenty-three-year old’s shoulders. I could understand that, but it didn’t mean I liked it.
“I memorized Camilla’s address. She lives close to where I used to live when I went to school,” I said. He rubbed his temples when he saw my mulish expression. “Migraine coming on?” I snipped and was surprised when he nodded. “I thought Fae couldn’t get headaches?”
He shot me a look from his half-lidded eyes and paused his massaging. “Who told you that lie?”
What! I could get a headache?
“I haven’t had one since I’ve been Fae, I just assumed…”
He snorted. “That was pure luck.”
“Wait a minute. We don’t feel the extreme cold. But we feel headaches? How does that make sense?”
At that moment, there was loud scuttling near my feet, and a scream flew from my mouth without my consent. Rian shoved me behind him, lifting his hand in the direction of the thing. I blinked at the raccoon as Rian threw a ball of fire at it. It squeaked and scuttled in the opposite direction. Some debris lit up with flames, and with a wave of his hand, Rian extinguished it. I gaped—that was an awesome power.
“If you were trying to kill it, you missed.” My voice trembled. I flushed in embarrassment at my reaction.
“We are in its home. I would not dare disrespect it by killing. We’ve angered nature enough at it is.” He shook his head like he didn’t know what to do with me. “Our magic comes from nature. The ground, the earth, the very air we breathe can carry magic. It means we must respect her in all forms.” I gathered he was talking about the raccoon, too. “You don’t feel cold because your body regulates temperature. But keep in mind, although we are resilient, with enough force, we could get hurt physically as well as mentally. If you are uninjured and in top form, you can send regenerative cells to heal, which is why Fae don’t feel most physical pain the way a human would. It does not mean we do not feel pain. My headache was sharp, but it healed quickly. For you half-breeds, I’m not sure how that would translate. We shall see how that pans out.”
“How does Cora feel pain and heal?”
Rian snorted. “Cora has not been injured since she came into her Fae maturity. Conan treats her like crystal drop.”
What the hell was a crystal drop? Maybe it was the Fae equivalent of a porcelain doll. Realizing Rian was talking, I snapped out of woolgathering.
Rian cursed violently. In the time I’d met him, he’d seemed so contained. Certainly not one to say “fuck” in such
