Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
Istood still, afraid to move. Ringo had peeked out from my hair, observing what was technically his home realm, or at least the home realm of his species. He was young enough to have been born on earth. So was Gabriel.
Without thinking, I said, “I take it it didn’t look like this when you left?”
“It did not.” Mistral started walking, his eyes on the distant horizon. Where the blue sky seemed to meet the land, there was a line of living green.
Gabriel knelt before me, pulling my socks from inside my boots then sliding them onto my feet like I was a kid while I gawked at our surroundings. When he got to my boots, I finally helped, and soon I was standing, if still shaky.
“We need to talk about what we’re going to do,” Lucas said. I had nearly forgotten about him. He was standing a few paces behind us, looking sullen.
I agreed with him, but Mistral didn’t seem to hear. He just kept walking.
I supposed I couldn’t blame him for wanting to see if his entire realm was dead.
It had to come as quite a shock, especially considering his hopes of bringing his people home to save them.
It was almost as shocking as all of us actually making it to a far realm.
We had our theories, but I hadn’t truly believed it possible.
As we all started walking, Sebastian fell into step at my side. “This is a waste of time,” he muttered.
I shrugged, then whispered back, “We should probably wait until my great grandfather gets tired of looking for me before we go back anyway.” I was glad I had worn boots with my dress instead of sandals, but the heels certainly weren’t doing me any favors.
Sebastian wrinkled his nose, but didn’t argue. “I do wonder at what point he became aware of you, and why he is choosing now to act.” He glanced down at my inappropriate footwear, but didn’t comment.
I was slowly getting used to our gray surroundings, though I still couldn’t believe we were actually in the goblin realm.
A far realm. And I didn’t think we had carved a new pathway—it was already there, glowing and waiting for us.
I wondered what had changed between our last trip to the pool and this one.
Why it had opened for us now, and how it had remained in existence.
All pathways had been severed, or so we’d thought.
I stopped walking and glanced back at where we’d landed, looking for a distinguishing landmark.
The stop was enough for Crispin to catch up with us. “Don’t worry. I’ll remember where it is.”
My shoulders relaxed. Crispin had been the only one of the guys to come with me to the pocket space somewhere between earth and the elven realm. He’d experienced the panic of not knowing if we could find our way back.
I watched Mistral’s shape growing farther away. Gabriel was in the space between, torn between following his prince and making sure I was safe. “I’m not sure that’s going to be enough.”
Crispin forced a smile. “Let’s just follow him for a while. We can come up with a new plan while we walk.”
When Sebastian said nothing, we continued walking, with Lucas grumbling behind us all the while.
The sun was beginning to set by the time we reached that distant green horizon, and my feet were absolutely killing me.
My dress was stained with dirt, sweat, and a few streaks of green matcha icing.
I was tired, hungry, and honestly terrified.
The only thing that had kept me going was Crispin telling stories of his mishaps at the elven court, back in his homeland.
Now, not even funny stories could brighten my mood as we beheld the sprawling estate before us.
The gray grass reached the stone wall at its perimeter, and seemed to be held back by some sort of magic.
Though the green grass beyond was well tended, and the clay shingles atop the stone buildings looked recently patched and repaired. Everything was eerily silent.
A breeze hit my back, sweeping my loose hair forward. At some point, I had lost my only hair band. Yet another thing to make me rue the day my great grandfather came to the Bogs.
Mistral and Gabriel were quietly arguing until finally Mistral won, and Gabriel walked my way, his dark eyes an angry storm. “I will wait with you while Mistral investigates. He does not want to risk any goblins who might feel hostile toward celestials.”
“He shouldn’t go alone.” I chewed my lip as Mistral did just that, easily vaulting over the stone wall. I wished I was close enough to sense what he might be feeling. He’d barely spoken since we’d arrived.
Gabriel gripped my shoulder, and I realized I’d taken a step forward without realizing.
“This is his home realm,” Crispin soothed. “His magic will be greater here. He can take care of himself.”
I looked the other way at Sebastian to see if he had anything comforting to add, but he simply lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug, his torn shirt gaping.
Lucas plopped down in the gray grass behind us, not looking at anyone.
Thinking that it wasn’t the worst idea, I sat and removed my boots, flexing my toes within my sweaty socks.
Ringo hopped down into my lap for a closer look at the gray grass, but he didn’t touch it.
We had established by this point that the grayness wouldn’t kill us, but I certainly didn’t blame him for not touching it when he didn’t have to.
Crispin sat beside us, his eyes on the sunset. The orange and pink hues didn’t reflect off the ground, leaving the gray pure and untouched. The contrast was jarring.
“About what happened back at the Citadel,” Crispin muttered, leaning in toward my shoulder. Gabriel and Sebastian were both turned toward the estate and didn’t react, but I knew they’d hear every word that was said. Talk about awkward.
I met Crispin’s cornflower blue eyes and waited for him to continue.
“I believe the magic drew us together to recharge us. It knew what it needed.”
I frowned, not expecting yet another magical theory to explain why he’d kissed me. Why he’d more than kissed me. My body hadn’t yet let go of the feeling of him pressed hard against me.
“We need not make a fuss over it,” he pressed.
Still frowning, I shook my head and looked off toward the estate. “Whatever you say.”
“Eva—”
But Mistral was jogging back toward us. He reached the stone wall and climbed over, landing lightly on his feet like a cat.
“There is no one here, but there are ample supplies. We can eat, rest, and decide what to do.” Patting Gabriel’s shoulder as he walked past, he moved toward me, offering his hand.
I reluctantly pulled on my boots, boosted Ringo back to my shoulder, then let Mistral help me stand. My legs and feet were already stiff from the short rest. “There’s really no one around?”
A flicker of emotion crossed his face, then was gone. “No one, but perhaps they shall return by nightfall.”
I took my hand from his to dust off my dress. “And don’t you think they’ll be pissed to find a group of strangers eating their food and getting grime on their furniture?”
He smiled softly, and I realized he really didn’t think anyone was returning. He must have found supplies, but no signs of recent life.
“Okay.” I forced a smile. “Let’s go.”
Gabriel boosted me over the wall while the rest of the guys climbed, even Sebastian. I wondered if his impressive shadow magic didn’t work in this realm. I should have asked Crispin about it when I’d had the chance.
Lucas was grumbling that we should just go back to the portal, but sensing Mistral’s mood, I quietly told him to shut up.
To my great surprise, he did, and we all walked through the eerily silent estate.
I hoped the ghostly quiet wasn’t a portent of things to come.
I hoped Mistral’s home realm wasn’t all just as dead as the gray grass and trees behind us.
I knelt before a cabinet, shuffling through sealed jars until I found something appetizing.
Night had fallen, and only a few candles lit the room.
I was glad we’d found them first, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to see a damn thing.
Finding something recognizable—hopefully—I held the jar up to the candlelight.
Preserved cherries were packed tight, a little less red than fresh, but anything was appetizing after not eating all day.
I was dizzy and my stomach was burning. Not to mention the dull headache from only having a sip of my morning coffee before all hell broke loose.
I straightened with the jar, then walked to where Crispin was looking through another cupboard. The rest of the guys were roaming the estate, searching for signs of what might have happened to its inhabitants.
I held out the jar. “This looks safe enough.”
His mouth forming a small oh, Crispin straightened and took the jar. He searched a few drawers until he found a knife, then used it to remove the wax seal before gesturing toward the nearest door with the jar. “Shall we eat outside? It’s creepy in here.”
“That’s an understatement.”
Ringo’s claws clicked across the floor as he darted out from another cupboard to run ahead of us.
We’d only been searching for maybe twenty minutes—my watch was dead, but probably wouldn’t work here anyway—but had found little in the way of clues.
All the cupboards were stocked and the linens were fresh. No signs of dust. No signs of anything.
At the same time, the fireplaces were swept clean, so no one had made a fire lately even though the night air created quite the draft. There was no dust, but there was also no dirt, like whoever had last visited had taken the time to clean up any debris brought in on their shoes before leaving.
That was, if they wore shoes. There was no clothing anywhere. No shoes or coats by the doors. It was like the entire estate had been prepared for guests, but they never arrived. Even the stables were perfectly clean, with fresh straw waiting for the non-existent horses.