Tory laughed at her sister’s joke, but I resisted the urge to protest that assessment of our current social standing in favour of eating a decent breakfast.
We dropped down opposite Orion and Geraldine, listening while Orion filled us in on how he was getting on with brewing his fancy potion.
Seth’s arm kept brushing mine as we ate, and I allowed his Wolfy ways, even nudging him back from time to time, enjoying giving him that little bit of pack reassurance even if I shouldn’t have really needed it myself. But I was away from my family like he was, cut off and in this strange place, so it made sense for our honorary Alpha pack to draw closer to one another while we were getting used to the changes here.
Once we’d finished eating, I filled Geraldine in on my plan to go get some information from my mom and despite her warnings about me ‘taking the utmost of care out in the wild beyond,’ as she seemed to be referring to the normal world, she got her dad to agree to me going. Not that they could have stopped me, but it made sense for me to at least seek permission before I went even if it was only to keep the peace.
Seth followed me up into the farmhouse which hid the entrance to The Burrows and he walked with me out into the snowy landscape which surrounded the hidden sanctuary until we made it to the magical border which kept the place hidden.
“Why don’t I come with you?” he suggested, clearly worried about me heading out there alone but I shook my head.
“It’s not worth risking you as well,” I said firmly. “I’ll be there and back before you know it.”
“I’ll wait right here,” he swore, folding his arms against the cold and making it clear he wouldn’t be swayed from that choice.
“Okay,” I agreed, flicking my hand at a spot beside him and casting a fire into existence to keep him warm while I was gone.
Seth lunged at me as I made a move to cross the barrier, yanking me into his arms and squeezing me tight as the rich, earthy scent of him enveloped my senses and I breathed in deeply.
“Stay safe,” he growled fiercely. “I love you.”
“I love you too, man,” I said on a breath of laughter, patting his back as he tensed up in my hold. “I love every fucking one of you. And I’ll be just fine. You’ll see.” I leaned back and clasped his face in my hands, pushing fire magic into his skin to warm him up as he gave me a lingering look which made my throat bob.
“Stop looking at me like you think you might never see me again,” I teased, trying to break the tension but it only seemed to build higher.
“If I never saw you again I think I’d just cut my heart clean from my chest rather than live on in that agony,” he breathed and I frowned at him as I felt the intensity of those words.
“I’ll be back,” I swore and he nodded, stepping back forcefully and making my hands fall from his face.
I gave him one, last reassuring smile, then stepped through the crackling energy of the magical barrier which was in place to protect us here, before tugging a pouch of stardust from my pocket and tossing it over my head.
The snow filled mountain scape was whipped away as I was torn from my position in the world and the stars spun me through their hold before depositing me where I desired.
I landed smoothly despite my footing being uneven, my gifts lending themselves to a quick correction of my balance as I found myself in a sun baked desert.
I glanced around warily, squinting against the onslaught of light from the bright blue sky and blazing sun as I held the stardust ready just in case there was any kind of magical detection system here which would alert the FIB to my presence. It was highly unlikely. My mom wouldn’t give up this location even under torture but with Lionel’s talent for Dark Coercion I couldn’t rule anything out.
After a few minutes it was clear that there was no one here besides the buzzards circling high above and the sand surrounding me, so I strode forward. This place was quite literally in the middle of nowhere. It was just a random spot in the centre of the Kerdian Desert with nothing but sand and wasteland for miles all around it. Hell, we weren’t even in Solaria anymore. This came under the rule of the southern kingdom of Voldrakia where the Vegas’ mother had been born - not that anyone made any use of this endless expanse of nothing.
I couldn’t see what I was searching for, but I knew it was here, buried beneath the sand and waiting for me, the stardust having brought me to the right place beyond a doubt.
I lifted my hands and took hold of the sand surrounding me with my earth magic, hunting through it until I felt the pulse of my mother’s magic which protected this place then shifting the sand aside until a large, black boulder was revealed beneath it.