Chapter 15 #2
“But B, there are dragons,” Raven pouts.
“We can explore other realms after we win a war.” I pat her shoulder.
“Fine, we’re going into the unknown, again. Yay,” she says, sarcasm dripping from her tone.
“I know, I get it. I want to see dragon shifters too but we’re on a never-ending time crunch.” I roll my shoulders back.
“I know. We just have to survive a war, and then I’m finding a way to realm hop to see all the things.” Raven grins.
“How far is the portal to the unknown realm?” Jayden asks, bringing the conversation back on track.
“A couple hours walk at most, but the guardians may not even let you through. They are particular about which beings enter into the unknown realm as no one ever to returns,” Rosaline says.
“We can handle some guardians. Do they know what you know?” I ask.
“Yes, they understand the stakes. With a show of power or force, they should let you through.”
“Why does this all feel too easy?” Jayden runs a hand through his hair.
“It won’t be easy. We have no idea what you will face on the other side of the portal. No one has ever returned.”
“Yes, you have said that multiple times. Reiterating it again and again isn’t productive,” I say.
“I don’t think you understand the gravity of this. What if we send you to this portal and you’re lost forever like the others? The realms will fall. All of them.”
“Seriously, I get it, okay? But if we take the chance on the farther portal, we may never make it to the actual portal before the realms fall because we will be gone for two months and Hermes will be unmade long before that. We have options but no great options.” I clench my hands into fists at my sides.
Jayden reaches over and wraps his hand around my closed fist. “Breathe, baby. We’re making the right choice.”
“I’m just tired of everyone trying to dictate to me all the time even as they all rely on me not to fuck up. Don’t make the wrong choice or the consequences will be dire, not just for me but the world. I’m fucking tired.” I lean my head back and stare at the ceiling to keep the tears at bay.
The pressure is too much. If one more person tells me what to do to save them, I may just do what Nereus is so scared of. I may just take off and say to hell with the realms.
“We’re going to the unknown realm. Talking about it isn’t helping matters,” Jayden says. “It’s the only way we can maybe make it back in time to save the world.”
“Thank you,” I say. “We just need to go and get this done. I’m done hearing everyone else’s opinions on what needs to be done. I’m doing what I think is best and fuck everything else.”
“I’m here for that plan. This shit is too much,” Raven says. “I just want to kill some monsters and win a damn war so we can take a long break.”
“That sounds like a perfect plan to me.” I nod.
“Okay, no more advice, just a map to get there, but be careful. You may encounter dires on your way through that forest.”
“Dires?” I ask.
“Wolves bigger than even your shifter wolves. They hunt in packs and can be vicious.” Rosaline shudders. “They don’t come this far south but they roam the lands around the portal.”
“Okay, I want to avoid other wolves as much as possible,” Greyson says.
“Agreed. We don’t know what will happen with the gods touched wolf coming into contact with a group of dires who by all rights should be stronger than him but aren’t,” I say.
“What is this gods touched affliction you four deal with?” Rosaline asks.
“It’s not an affliction per se. It’s just changed us into something more than your typical shifter or demigod, I guess.” I shrug.
“How did this happen?”
I glance at the others, including Draven and Adrian, and grimace. I don’t want this secret to get out. If people start hunting down gods touched monsters to grow more powerful, it could be a huge problem in the realms.
“I find it hard to trust you with this information after the way we’ve been treated.” I raise a brow at her. “Some of my own friends on my team don’t know the specifics.”
Dax glances at me warily and then turns to Draven with a shrug. I guess Draven already spilled the beans to them. Oh well, they won’t tell anyone. They know the consequences.
“We came into contact with god blood during a battle. It got on me, Jayden, Raven, and Greyson, but we kept Adrian and Draven out of the fight. Jayden, Raven, and I were dosed a second time during the days of endless sun,” I say.
“It made the three of us even stronger, but our entire group has been changing.”
“Changing?” Rosaline asks.
“Getting stronger or even just learning new things about their magic they never knew before. We aren’t sure but we think it’s what everyone has been talking about us ushering in a new age of magic.”
“I definitely misinterpreted what she said about you lot. If your powers are growing.” Rosaline’s expression is truly regretful now.
Maybe she finally understands that we won’t be the only ones that usher in the new world but the young demigods who survive the coming war will be gifted mates and stronger powers from the fates themselves.
“You did. We may be the ones who stand up against the queen, but we won’t be alone in ushering in the new age for demigods. There are others who will stand with us. Caging them like animals will never be okay to me.”
“If any of your demigod friends come through the tear in the veil, we will treat them as honored guests and they won’t be caged.” Rosaline nods.
“Good. That’s all I can ask, that you treat them better than you have us, and as soon as Hermes is strong enough, we will find a way to get the travelers back to their own realm.” I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees.
“You mentioned the days of endless sun. Are you experiencing any breakdowns in communication or problems with travelers in your realm disappearing?” Jayden asks.
“We are too widespread in this realm with very little communication between villages so if it’s happening in other places, the news has yet to reach us.” Rosaline pulls a piece of parchment from her bag on her hip.
“Okay but it is entirely possible there are fae wandering our realm right now completely confused. Fantastic,” Raven says.
“You’re not wrong. When we get back we need to alert Chiron in case anyone stumbles on the academy or have Sara check the radio for any weird stories about magic users that are disoriented. Humans don’t know about us,” I say, rubbing my temples.
What if dragon shifters or things from this unknown realm are transported to our realm? This could be a disaster of epic proportions.