Page 73 of Depths of Desire
“She told her coven sister. Selena that she was heading to the Duomo in San Gimignano. She said she had a lead on your mother, and it had something to do with the church where she died. That was about thirty-six hours ago.”
“Fuck. Okay, I’m heading in that direction. Find me a portal to the magickal realm so I can get there quickly.”
Kael hesitates. “You know that will weaken you, and if she’s still there and in trouble, you are going to need all of your strength.”
“I know,” I grind out. “But I’ve let her down. I should’ve been looking for her this whole time. If something has happened to her, I won’t forgive myself. I’ve gotten her into this mess. She’s like a little sister to me.”
“Okay. But just be aware that you will be weaker and you’re still…recovering from the poisoning.”
“I’m well aware of my weakness, thank you. I don’t have a choice.” I inhale and exhale slowly to ease the fear and anger in my chest, but Kael is right. I am weaker than I should be, and that could put Esme in even more danger…if she’s still alive.
Kael sighs. “I’ll get you a couple of spots to enter in France, and then I’ll get you the closest spot to the duomo to exit. Do you want me to come with you?”
I hesitate. I do want him with me. Kael is excellent in battle. “No. I need you to reach out to my brothers if you don’t hear from me in a reasonable amount of time.” Mostly, I don’t want to risk anyone else’s life on my quest for the truth about my mother.
“What’s a reasonable amount of time?” Kael demands “I don’t like you going on your own,” he grumbles.
“I will reach out as soon as I get to the duomo. Count an hour from then. If I don’t reach out, tell my brothers.”
“Why don’t you take them now?”
My frustration ripples through me. “Because I’ve just put them through enough shit with Luna.”
“That wasn’t your fault. Malrick is the one?—”
“I’m not going into it all now. Just get me an entry point to the magickal realm and an exit by the duomo.”
“Fine,” Kael growls back. “But I don’t like this.”
“Noted. You can tell me I told you so later.” I hang up the phone.
As a vampire, I always curse the daylight, but now I am more vehement about it. The lingering sunlight makes flying too dangerous to try. I have to drive. I go as fast as I can in the direction of San Gimignano as I wait for Kael to give me an entry portal location. San Gimignano seems like a lifetime away.
There used to be a portal close to the villa, but there was an incident, and some witch got into a fight with a group of fae and blew it up. Of course, it blew up on both sides of the ether, so the humans knew about it and were still struggling to explain the explosion several years later. A decision was made to close that portal since humans were paying much closer attention to it now.
The Bluetooth speaker in the car announced a text from Kael, and I jab the button to play it. He’d found an address for an alternate portal. It wasn’t too far, still in France. Maybe an hour. I press down harder on the accelerator. The sooner I find Esme, the sooner I get back to Luna. I am still awestruck by how much the marriage ceremony changed things. The knowledge that she’s mine for life brings me great joy and a possessiveness that I’ve never experienced. I would do anything for Luna. Anything.
The miles and the hours fly by, and I pull into a parking spot on the narrow lane. The portal is located in a small restaurant. I enter, and the woman at the front asks me in French if I want a table for one. “Ah non, merci. Je cherche une…” I have no idea what to ask for.
She frowns at me and then cocks an eyebrow. “Oui? De quoi avez-vous besoin?”
Great. She’s asking what I need, and I have no idea what to say. If I say I need a portal to the magickal realm and she’s human, she’ll think I’m insane, and there’s no way to explain it.
“Monsieur, je pense que vous chechez la cave a vin.”
I turn and see the bartender nodding at me. “Yes, the wine cellar. That would be good.”
He gestures for me to follow him. I move around the woman, who continues to stare at me, and rush around the bar. I hurry down the stairs and then turn the corner, finding myself in the wine cellar.
“Press that bottle,” the bartender says pointing at an old wine bottle with no label.
“Thanks. I had no idea what to ask for up there.”
He nods, and I have a feeling he’s a firangelis like Carson. “Most don’t. Travel safely,” he says.
I thank him again and then grab the bottle and go through to the magickal realm.
The world shifts, and suddenly I’m thrust into the strangest landscape. Creatures are all dressed in outfits from long ago mixed with the latest fashions. The world is a kaleidoscope of colors, and it takes me a moment to adjust.
