Page 90 of Broken Hearted
“Hopefully?” Stryker asked.
Zane swallowed hard. “This has been done once before, hundreds of years ago, and the notes left behind are in the worst ink-stained handwriting I’ve ever seen.”
“It will be okay. You’ve got this.” Aribella cheered everyone on.
I wondered who created a portal to our world hundreds of years ago. Probably something that had been covered up.
“I’m ready,” Zander said with a deadly calm, sinking his fingers into the earth and holding on.
“Me too,” Stryker offered, following suit and falling down onto his knees.
“Same.” Adrien bent to one knee and began to dig his fingertips into the ground as well.
This was it. Dawn slipped her hand into mine and then I reachedout and grasped Aribella’s. We all stood off to the side and watched in anxiety as the men breathed in and out slowly.
“Ready,” Zane finally said and sat on his heels, digging his hands into the soil like all his brothers had.
What happened next was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen.
It started with Zander. A golden glow rose up from where he crouched and moved to Stryker, washing over him like a wave and then going to Adrien. It covered my husband and then disappeared into the earth before popping up around Zane and cocooning him.
“Wow,” Dawn breathed beside me.
I inched forward, still clinging to Aribella and Dawn. The golden magic seemed to solidify over Zane as he grunted, no doubt trying to make his portal.
“The image of Faerie in my mind’s eye isn’t enough,” Zane growled.
I had an idea then of what might help. Letting go of Dawn and Aribella’s hands, I rushed into the center of the circle, feeling a buzz come over my skin as I crossed the threshold.
Zane peered up at me pleadingly as I reached into the satchel around his hip. I grasped the two stones from Dawn and Aribella’s dagger and then my own and pulled them out, placing them under his palms between his skin and the earth. The second I did this I was nearly blown off my feet with a force of power.
“What was that?” Zander shouted.
I stumbled out of the circle and looked back to see a small window had opened in front of Zane. A window to our world. But it wasn’t large enough for Zane to go through, and it was flickering.
“Those are the Harvest Mountains,” Aribella exclaimed.
They were indeed the Harvest Mountains of Fall Court, and they were as black as night, covered in what looked like oil. The image flickered in and out.
“I can’t hold on much longer,” Adrien cried.
Zane grunted in defiance. “I just need it to get a little bigger so I can jump through.”
Should he be going through on the other side of the Harvest Mountains? It wasn’t Spring Court, it wasn’t healthy. But it was his only shot, so I knew he would no matter what.
“Maybe we can help them,” Dawn said, rushing forward to kneel beside Zander.
“No, stay back,” Zander grunted, sweat beading down his face.
She dug her hands into the earth next to him and I could see sunlight beams pour out of her fingertips and into the soil.
The portal suddenly stopped flickering and blew open wider.
It worked!
Aribella and I rushed to kneel next to our husbands without another word and added our magic as well. I fed my icy tendrils into the earth and then felt as it took what I offered. It was like a drain had been pulled from a tub and magic started sucking out of me.
I peered up to see the portal open to the size of a door, and black sludgy water poured inside of our world as Zane met my gaze.
