Page 28 of Own to Obtain

“Magic,” the woman said. “Portals are the only way to go beyond the known Lands and survive, but the magic that exists there is different than here. It takes time and significant effort to create a portal that will hold.”

“How long?”

“A few hours. The magic on that end is aggressive and dangerous. In the meantime I recommend you find somewhere you can hide or be safe from him for now.”

Kyus exhaled in frustration. “That’s not possible for long. As you say he is capable of finding us anywhere we go.”

“I cannot work miracles,” the woman said sharply. “I am no longer a spy. I no longer have those connections. Things will take a little time.”

Kyus leaned towards her, curious. “Why is that? Why did you abandon the Omega cause?”

The woman in white bristled, her eyes hardening. “That is not your concern. You just need to worry about finding somewhere to stay until I’m able to arrange it, and that is if you truly want to go,” she said turning to Shaya. “You need to be sure. If I arrange this portal, you will have to take it.”

Shaya frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Once the portal is created it will appear where you are and stay open for a short time, but because the magic is aggressive it will keep reappearing every few hours until you step through it.”

Shaya glanced at Kyus, but her thoughtful gaze was on the woman.

“The portal will be cast to appear at her location?” Kyus asked.

“Yes.”

“And if she wanted to return to the known Lands?”

The woman lifted her chin. “If there is a possibility that you may want to return, there is no point in going. It is not easy to come back and it would require an understanding of the magic there. If you go to the unknown Lands, you have to be sure that you will stay.”

“But what is the Land like?” Shaya asked. “It is possible to live there?”

“It is very different,” the woman said. “It is harsh and some parts of it are barren, but if you understand potion ingredients then you will understand how to survive there. The land will help you survive.”

“That isn’t much to go on,” Kyus snapped.

“It is a simpler life,” the woman shrugged. “There are no rich resources that I discovered and no safe haven that you should expect. The part of the land I would send you to will give you privacy, food, and shelter, but you shouldn’t expect more than that.”

“And if I block her Omega signals,” Kyus asked, “would that remain intact while she is there?”

“It should,” the woman responded. “But I cannot guarantee anything.”

“So her options are traveling to the unknown where she doesn’t even know she can survive, or make peace with the Alpha constantly abusing her?” Kyus said, her voice hardening as she spoke. “That is not much of a choice.”

“It is the only one she has,” the woman said sharply. “She bonded with that Alpha knowing what he was and knowing how he treated her. If she cannot make peace with that, then she must make peace with this.”

“That is ridiculous to blame the Omega,” Kyus argued. “Hormones play a great part in these kinds of things. She is young, she was abused, she didn’t know what she was doing. She is trying to rectify as much as she can now.”

Shaya tuned out the woman’s answer as she thought carefully about Kardos, the anger in his face as he bellowed at her from the edge of Nyek Island, his ruthlessness on his ship, the calm, unaffected way he punished her after she bit him, the lack of care he showed for her pain or her mood each time. Although there were moments of him showing care for her, they were too few, and couldn’t compete with the brutality of his coldness. Would she truly survive him if he caught her again? And was it worth running all over the known Lands for the rest of her life, putting her sister in constant danger?

She lifted her head and interrupted Kyus and the woman in white as they argued. “I will go.”

Both turned to look at her and then each other.

“Very well,” the woman said. “Give me a strand of your hair.”

Shaya raised her brows in surprise but Kyus turned and inched up the material covering her head to yank a strand of hair from the side of her scalp.

“So she should just look out for the portal?” Kyus asked as Shaya dropped the hair strands into the woman’s palms.

“Yes, she won’t be able to miss it,” the woman said, closing her palm and placing her hand back in her lap. She turned to Shaya. “I suggest you gather what you need so you’re ready when it appears.”

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