22. Chapter Twenty-Two
~Felix~
We went from stealth to flight mode in a matter of seconds when the voice in the darkness ordered us to stop.
On my signal, get Evalina and the other fairies through the portal , Calista’s voice said in my head. I’ll hold them off.
The fuck you will, Vaughan growled back. I’m not going without you.
Get over yourself, Alpha, she shot back, only half-teasing. We’re not in your territory right now and I know what I’m doing.
Ready to go when you say so, Luna, I interjected, making it clear that I would obey even if her mate wouldn’t. And since you’re attached to me, Vaughan, you’re coming too.
Darius simply nodded his agreement. Since neither Evalina nor Jermyn could hear our conversation, I had no chance to warn them before Calista reached down and grabbed the small gun hooked around her calf. The bang when she fired it into the air reverberated through the nighttime fae forest, sounding even louder than usual. My ears rang as I grabbed Evalina with one hand, Darius nudging Jermyn forward as we raced towards the portal, passing through it with Calista covering us from behind.
To my relief, I could still see Evalina as we emerged back into the Vermilion pack territory, under the white moon of our own world. She might still be invisible to those who had never visited the fae world, but I’d never lose sight of her again.
“I’m going back for Callie,” Vaughan stated as soon as we were through, starting to untie the makeshift gurney we’d constructed for Evalina’s mother.
“Don’t,” I begged. “At least not yet. She’s got it under control and you might screw up her plan. If she’s not here in two minutes, I’ll go back with you.”
“You don’t know her plan any more than I do,” he grumbled, but he stopped his movements, his whole body twitching as he fought against his instincts.
Seconds dragged by, each one seeming unending until Calista raced through the portal, immediately dropping her bag on the ground and rooting around in it.
“Hold this,” she instructed, holding up a piece of string at one end. She didn’t address the order to anyone in particular, and since Evalina’s hands were free, she stepped forward and took it while Calista continued her directions. “Hold it across the portal, nice and steady, then close your eyes. Darius, make sure none of the other fae watch either.”
Evalina went to one side of the portal while Calista stood on the other, the string spanning the width of the entrance like a piece of caution tape. I couldn’t see what good it would do if any of the fae soldiers tried to follow us, but I held my tongue, waiting to see what Calista had up her sleeve. As instructed, Evalina closed her eyes, covering them with her other hand as a precaution.
From her bag, Calista produced a container of salt, sprinkled the ground in front of the portal with it, and recited some words in a language I didn’t recognize. Evalina seemed to, though, based on the way she startled in surprise when the words came out of Calista’s mouth.
I only knew her incantation had finished when the bright light surrounding the portal began to dim. Soon, it disappeared completely.
“Alright, you can let go now but keep your eyes closed,” Calista told Evalina. Once my mate dropped the end of the string in her hands, Calista rolled it back up and returned it to the bag along with the container of salt.
“You want to explain what all that was about?” Vaughan asked gruffly, but I could tell he was impressed, the same as I was. His gruffness came from residual concern over Calista’s safety, nothing else.
“I disabled the portal,” Calista explained. “If they want to come after us now, they’ll have to find another entry point, and they’ll need to be able to track us from there. It won’t be quick, if they can manage it at all.”
“Why didn’t they follow you straight through?” Darius wondered.
“I spilled some of the salt on the other side. They had no choice but to stop and count the grains. I figured it would buy us the time we needed.”
That also explained why she made sure Evalina and Jermyn didn’t watch her sprinkle the salt in front of the portal either. It was quick thinking.
“We have the best Luna ever,” I announced.
Calista shook her head while Vaughan echoed his agreement. “She’s incredible, and I’m ready to take her home to the Crimsontooth pack now. Let’s move out.”
With my hand on Evalina’s shoulder, I moved her away from the salt, and once we were out of sight of it, she opened her eyes. My hand dropped when she could see on her own, but I immediately missed the feel of her beneath my fingers.
As we walked, I gave Evalina a brief overview of what would happen next. “Our home is a couple of hours from here, but it’s only a ten-minute walk back to the cars. We’ll drive the rest of the way.”
“Cars?”
Once she mentioned it, I realized that I didn’t remember seeing any kind of vehicles in the fae world. Granted, I’d only seen a very small part of it, but technology in general seemed different. “They’re a mode of transportation, a lot faster than walking. When you see them, you can tell me if you have another name for them.”
She nodded before shooting a curious look at the dark forest surrounding us. “It smells different here.”
The pine-scented forest, rich and earthy, definitely contrasted with the almost sickly-sweet fruit scent in her own world.
“A lot of things are different,” I agreed. “Nothing will hurt you though, not as long as we’re around.”
We stayed quiet for the rest of the short walk, focused on watching the ground for hazards in the dark night. A hundred different things I wanted to say to her danced across my tongue, but too many of them were things we needed to discuss in private, not in front of a crowd.
When the pack house came into view, Vaughan took charge again. “I’ll go update Alpha Marcus while you guys get packed up. Calista and I will take Evalina’s mother and the fae man. Darius, you can go with Felix and Evalina. We’ll send someone back tomorrow to collect the other car.”
That worked for me.
Darius placed Evalina’s bags next to my truck before taking the other end of Evalina’s mother’s hammock from Vaughan. Together, we got her set up comfortably in the SUV that Vaughan and Calista drove over in, and I put Evalina’s bags in my truck before offering a hand to Evalina to help her up. Honestly, she might need more than a hand. The step into the raised pick-up truck sat almost at her waist.
Her wide eyes surveyed the vehicle with curiosity and a bit of apprehension. “What is it?”
So, they didn’t have cars then. “We sit inside them and they’ll move us pretty quickly. Do you have anything like this where you’re from?”
Her hair swished over her shoulders as she shook her head, still looking uncertain.
“It’ll take us back to where I live, where Tarron can’t find you and you can prepare the treatment for your mother. After that, you can decide whether or not you want to go back.”
Obviously, I hoped whatever she decided for the future would include me, but we’d take that one step at a time.
Evalina’s thoughts were still on the large, unfamiliar vehicle in front of her. “Is it scary?”
A grin broke across my face at her innocent question. “I promise it’s safe. You can sit next to me, and if you’re scared, you can squeeze my hand.”
I held my right hand out to her and she only hesitated a second before placing her tiny palm against mine. Again, the sparks of our bond travelled up my body from where our skin connected, and I had to bite my lip to stifle a groan. Sitting next to her in the car would be torture, and I couldn’t wait.