Page 108 of Oaths & Vengeance
My portals cut through trees and mountains, but I’d read a book in the royal library that mentioned the sun and certain types of planets couldcreate interference. At the time, I’d wondered why that would matter, but I supposed it made sense when traveling through space.
“Yes, exactly.”
“That source of yours gave you more information than I would have expected,” I said, surprised he already knew so much. It also hurt to discover how close my mother had been to answers before dying.
Darrow grimaced. “He was a very old seer living in a cave where the Sobaryan Mountains turn to foothills in the Oarwar desert. The troll wasn’t pleasant, and it took hours to get the pertinent information out of him. We had to hear random rants about unrelated matters as well.”
“Don’t forget that awful tea he insisted we drink,” Jax said, shuddering.
Faina grinned at him. “It wasn’t that bad if you pinched your nose.”
“Your humor never fails to delight me,” he said dryly.
A rumble of thunder sounded in the distance, and we all looked up to spot a bright flash in the night sky. The wind was picking up as well. All my senses told me it would be storming soon, and it wouldn’t be pleasant when it began.
“Let’s get the measurements on the ring and then head out,” Darrow said, addressing Loden.
The half-elf, half-druid nodded and drew something from his pocket as he headed toward the damaged section. Faina, who carried a small pack, handed out flasks of water. We gratefully drank them down. Loden finished his work and quickly took a swig before Darrow’s sister repacked everything.
As we returned to the forest, the air began to cool. Only five minutes into our walk, it started to pour. We stopped worrying about being careful since all living creatures with sense would take cover during the deluge and hurried as fast as we could through mud and puddles.
Chapter 45
Aella
When we stepped through the primary portal for Porrine, mud covered us. It was caked up to our knees and splattered everywhere else. I wished I could have brought us directly to Darrow’s house, but temporary rings lacked a unique rune sequence and only worked one way. That left us with no choice except to trudge through the capital city as our boots squished with every step.
Darrow held my hand as we walked past the palace's rear, choosing to cut through the poor section of the city rather than the statelier front. It was nearly ten at night, but people still meandered the streets as they left parties or taverns. We preferred to avoid seeing anyone who might recognize us.
“When the time is right, I could set up a permanent ring at the townhouse if you want,” I said, looking up at him.
He lifted his dark brows, mocking amusement in his gaze. “You only saw our home for the first time today, and you’re already planning changes?”
I rolled my eyes. “Do you have any idea how much it would cost to hire someone to do it?”
“No. How much?” Darrow asked.
“For a small one that will only allow two people to enter at a time, you can expect to pay at least twenty thousand gold coins,” I replied.
Everyone turned to look at me with surprise.
Darrow cleared his throat. “And how much would you charge me?”
“Only the cost of materials, which was about sixteen hundred when I built the one in my garden. Of course, I took my time finding the best deals and had to do it in stages since it was a pain sneaking everything to its final location. I made one for a village in Alavaar that was largeenough for four to pass at a time, and I charged them seven thousand since that was all they could afford. The supplies for that one ran me nearly three thousand.”
That had been one of the rare times I could earn significant funds for myself without my uncle knowing about it. The village had a portal channeler who could transport them within their kingdom, but he wasn’t strong enough to infuse the ring with the power needed to become permanently active. That was how it would naturally generate its unique rune sequence. The moment the magic fused into it, the algodonite stones would flash in the correct order ten times, so one could ensure they recorded it correctly.
The people in the area were so excited that they wouldn’t have to travel for two hours on foot to the next closest ring anymore, and I became an honorary member of the town for my efforts. Only seven channelers between the four realms on Paxia could set up a new portal, so we could charge a premium for our work and get away with it. The quote the village received from the only person who could perform the service in Alavaar was for twenty-five thousand gold coins. They were very grateful that I had been willing to settle for less than a third of that.
“Why wouldn’t you ask for more?” Darrow asked, curiosity in his gaze.
I gave him an affronted look. “You’re my husband, and you said it’sourhome, so that would be ridiculous. Also, I’m probably the only one who will use it. I’d be doing myself a favor.”
“Hmm. Good point.”
We fell silent for the last few minutes of our squishy trudge through the city that drew a few pairs of eyes. Since we were coming from the north, we had to pass ten townhouses before we reached ours. Everyone pulled off their boots when they reached the door. As soon as I set mine down, Darrow took my hand and pulled me toward the stairs.
“Goodnight, everyone,” he said, rushing me away so fast I couldn’t even protest before we were on the second floor.
