Page 83 of Whisper Woods

“Shifters can do magic?” Seldon asks, his interest sparked. He was far too keen to join us on our trip to Tathys, even though I’ve tried to tell him that these little excursions don’t always end well.

“Yeah, it’s just expected, the kids start learning it from when they are little. But they are kind of dicks about the Mundane. Some of them, anyway. There’s this prophecy, that they are meant to rejoin the rest of the world. There are some who are really against it ‘cause they hate the Mundane. And then there are some that are just scared, especially because their magic’s draining. But then there are some who are keen to rejoin, especially beings that lost family to the Mundane.”

I explain more about Tathys and the rules their people live under, trying my best to answer everyone’s questions with my extremely limited knowledge.

We get lucky, though. It takes less than an hour to find our orcs—they were on their way to the Black Stump for a drink and to do some trading anyway. Bix is more than happy to show us the glitter air they found, too. Turns out he plans on asking Dad about a job, so on the way he grills me on questions about the work and if they’d be cool with an orc joining the crew.

By the time we reach the portal, another hour walk away, I feel a special affinity for the big guy. He’s a lot more switched on than the others in his troupe, leaving him drifting on the outskirts. And while working there wasn’t a great fit for me, it might be for him. And, yeah, maybe it eases a bit of my guilt about abandoning Dad to be able to point to someone who can liftreallyheavy things and is eager to learn in his direction.

I promise to give Dad a heads up when I get back to my phone—which is actually stuck in Tathys now that I think about it, along with my car keys—and Bix waves us off, lumbering off into the Woods to find his friends.

We’re much further west than where I went through with Rafe, which may pose a problem on the other side, but what else can we do?

“Is this it?” Tor asks, leaning so close to the shimmering strip of air over the top of a giant bird's nest fern his nose brushes the portal. Caelan pulls him just before Tor falls into the gateway, sneezing from the magical tickle of his nose.

“Fucks sake, Tor.” Caelan mutters under his breath, pulling his mate in for abrutal, possessive kiss. Theo pulls a face and the rest of us snicker, even though we’re more than used to their displays by now. And to be fair, Theo and Roan aren’t any better at being discreet.

“Gods, knock it off already.” Roan groans, flicking a small token from his pocket into the underbrush for the sprites. The leaves shake as the tiny beings clamour for their prize. “How are we doing this?”

“I feel like we should have a rope or something.” Seldon eyes the shimmering air dubiously, obviously second guessing his choices today.

“Oh, enough of this. Adventure is adventure.” Edith declares, shoving past us all to leap into the void head first.

We stand, shocked and silent, staring at the empty space where Edith was.

“I can’t feel her, Roan.” Theo whispers, clasping onto Roan’s arm. Caelan swears under his breath and Seldon steps closer to me.

But then, out of fuckingnowhere, Edith’s hands reaches out of the nothingness, crooking a finger in our direction. In the very distance, I can almost hear her cackle of laughter, like a dim echo.

“Well, boys. Looks like we’re doing this. Let’s go.” And with that, I jump.

Rafe

Tathys is a bluras I sprint through the streets to home. My journey out of the Woods was perilous, I barely made it out with my skin—changing just as my foot slipped and I slid down the steep, rocky hillside for a heart-stoppingly long time. Here in the city, I can’t think. I just run, completely heedless of the damage I leave in my wake as I barrel through anything in my path.

My lungs ache and my legs burn when I finally explode through the gates of my home. The pounding in my head has developed a high-pitched whistle. But I ignore it, thundering up the path and bursting through the front doors so hard there is a loud crack.

To silence.

The house is peaceful. Still.

Empty.

A purring growl vibrates through my chest with the effort to train and steady my breathing. With massive effort, I let my senses free.

Nothing.

No one.

The spiked frills around my neck dance and flex when I locate a scent that should not be there.

Heylor.

Guards.

The rumbling growl becomes more of a vicious scowl when I stalk towards my office, and even though I know it will be empty of life, it enrages me just the same to see it. I almost shred the place with my claws to find a clue,anything. But there is nothing. Just emptiness and my instincts screaming that everythingis wrong.

The game is over.

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