Page 107 of Oaths & Vengeance
The twinkle in my husband’s eyes implied something more than that. I averted my gaze from him before he made me blush with his obvious thoughts. At least my emotions were calm again, and the knot in my stomach had loosened. I resumed eating my meal, grateful my appetite had returned.
Chapter 44
Aella
Darrow had set up a temporary portal in the yard behind his house so we wouldn’t have any observers for where we went. The ring was better constructed than any mobile ones I’d used before—thicker and sturdier. As I began channeling, I found that pushing sufficient power to reach the mysterious Penoria location was nearly the same difficulty as when I’d performed a similar task for the Andalagar chief with the fountain’s former site.
Darrow stood waiting, no longer using glamour. Only I would maintain mine as a safeguard while we traveled together. I was no longer in the dress I’d worn when I arrived, though. They had a similar black outfit to Faina’s ready for me, so that I could change into something more practical for the journey.
Apparently, we were going to be walking through rough terrain for an hour while trying to avoid faeries. There were likely dangerous creatures along the way as well. Since I’d never been able to explore Penoria beyond the two portals on the southwest end, I was excited to see the opposite side of the island. I only hoped we didn’t run into trouble.
The ring popped, and a blue glow appeared. My hands trembled. The wards for this one were considerable and multilayered, so they continued to resist me even after I made the connection. I didn’t want to hold it for any longer than necessary.
“Hurry,” I urged.
No one hesitated to step inside except Darrow, who insisted on crossing with me. We leaped into the portal that lay flat across the ground, holding hands. My husband used every chance to touch me, and I had no doubtit was part of his plan. He was well aware that I was drawn to him and struggling to resist his seduction efforts. In all my thirty-three years, I’d never felt this level of attraction to anyone. Why did it have to be him, of all people?
We stepped out to the other side, discovering the east Penoria ring was established and upright. A dense forest surrounded it, with only one narrow trail leading away. The others had already moved close to the trees, nearly blending with the dark shadows. We needed to get away from here quickly in case anyone was nearby.
Darrow led the way, silently indicating that I stay directly behind him. The other four followed us as we navigated the trail. While it wasn’t ideal to use a well-traveled path, I couldn’t see another option. The trees here grew their branches starting from the ground up rather than higher, and between them, all sorts of thick brush grew. Tractvines were plentiful here. I sent out calming magic so they wouldn’t attack us because once they caught someone, it was almost impossible to extract them from the plant’s clutches.
In all my travels, I’d never seen so much vegetation condensed together. The only gaps were well above our heads. I supposed that made sense because faeries had wings, so they didn’t have to travel on the ground much. Still, the soil must have been extra rich to nourish that much life.
We’d only been walking about ten minutes when a swarm of red gornetts swarmed toward us, buzzing loudly. I stopped at the same moment as Darrow. They were my least favorite insects with their five-inch, oblong bodies, sharp stingers, and double sets of wings. I’d never seen fewer than fifty flying together, and tonight, it appeared there were at least that many.
We stood frozen in the hope they would pass. At first, they appeared to be heading in a different direction, but unfortunately, they came close enough to catch our scent. I cursed inwardly. We didn’t have them in Therress, as we’d killed them off centuries ago, and we quickly eradicated any that migrated into our land. Most other elf-dominated territories did the same because they had an unnatural love of our blood. The stingers could strike deep and draw as much as possible before flying away. If aswarm attacked one person simultaneously, they usually killed them unless the person had an especially large body.
As soon as they came within ten feet of us, they suddenly froze. I had no doubt Darrow had grabbed them with his mind. In the next moment, their crushed bodies fell to the thick forest floor. He sent them into the brush where no one would notice their carcasses.
In a pinch, I could have blown them away and then run to put as much distance as possible between me and them. I only preferred not to exhaust what little power I had left after opening a difficult portal. While I still had doubts about Darrow on some things, I had complete faith in his ability to protect us. There was no disputing he was one of the most powerful fae in the realm.
We continued down the path, moving painfully slow as we navigated fallen trees, shallow creeks, and other native hazards in the area. The querills became our next close encounter. A family of five grew angry as we passed by their tree and climbed halfway down with their sharp claws. The brown and white stripes made them easy to see when they moved. We had plenty of them in Therress, but it was easier to work around their small territories in open forests.
Their appearance could be deceiving, with their fluffy heads and tails making them look cute, especially since they were no larger than a sebeska. Once they opened their mouths and exposed their long, pointy teeth, it was clear they didn’t have friendly intentions.
Darrow used his powers again, holding them still until we were safely out of their territory, which usually ranged about fifty feet. We breathed a sigh of relief when the danger passed. They couldn’t have killed us, but their bites would have hurt, and we might have needed to kill them to stop the attack. Ideally, we wouldn’t interfere with the wildlife too much while here.
Twice, we also had to stop and hide in the brush while faeries passed overhead. The flutter of their wings was loud enough that even in the dark forest, we could hear them coming well before they came into view. I only worried my thudding heart would give me away.
With all the obstacles, it ended up taking over an hour to reach the ring. It was impressive at a distance, larger than any I’d ever seen, with dark silver metal nearly two feet wide and eight inches thick. Even the algodonite stones were especially big. Unfortunately, a chunk of the portal had broken off on the lower right side, leaving a partial gap. It would never work as it stood now.
After a thorough search of the area, Darrow rubbed his face. “The source we used to locate the ring mentioned there would be damage, but it appears someone not only fractured it but also removed the missing piece. We need to determine what type of metal they used for constructing the ring to replace it.”
“At least all the stones and runes are intact,” I said, trying to see the bright side.
Loden moved closer to the broken end. “It will take a magic wielder specializing in metalwork to fix it.”
My cousin Tadeus could likely manage that. He was powerful enough, but I didn’t know that we could trust him with something like this. The others would balk at the idea, anyway. I’d wait and see if they had better alternatives before considering bringing him up.
“Do you know the rune sequence to Earth?” I asked, since he hadn’t mentioned it.
Darrow shook his head. “That is yet another task. Having the location's name is a solid first step, but we still need the sequence, and there is a timing issue.”
I frowned. “Timing issue?”
“For instance, Faelaria can’t always be accessed by a portal. It’s close enough, though, that if it doesn’t work, you can wait a few hours to try again. With Earth being much farther away, the difficulties will likely be greater for traveling there and back. We’d need precise calculations to avoid being trapped on an alien world for too long,” he explained.
I mulled that over. “Like if too many stars are in the way between our point and theirs?”
