Tainted roots

Back at Rosie's place, I found Rowan laying on the sofa, her eyes snapping open and meeting mine as soon as I entered. 'Are you alright, my little wolf? I sensed some strong emotions for you earlier.'

I nodded mutely, not remotely in the mood to talk about it yet. If the shrewd way her eyes followed my path through the living room was any indication, she wasn't fooled. In the past month I'd been bonded to her, I learned she could sense strong emotions from me; like seeing my mate for the first time in a month.

Another thing I found out, was that I could summon her to me. Because she was a spirit familiar, she could go intangible and appear where I was—which was something they hadn't taught us in lessons, I would've remembered that—but she couldn't do this at any time she wanted. I had to summon her. It wouldn't have mattered if I knew about this in the creature's realm since this only worked on a developed bond between a summoner and their familiar. The same went for being able to sense where she was. I was beginning to be able to sense her, but only when she was within a two-mile radius.

I leaned back against the counter in the kitchen, breathing deeply as I closed my eyes. This wasn't how I expected today to go. What were the odds we'd both come here to investigate? It seemed too coincidental, maybe those fate bitches had a hand in it. I doubted it, but it was nice to have someone to blame.

When I opened my eyes, I found the others standing around the kitchen staring at me, waiting for me to break down probably. "I'm fine," I whispered, still not ready to talk about this.

“Yeah, but are you fine enough to be stuck in the same group as him?" Harmony asked, propping her hip against the counter. She tried to keep the sympathy from her face, but it still peeked through.

Reed opened the fridge door and started pulling out ingredients for lunch. "You and I can swap places."

I shot him a grateful smile. "Thanks, but I don't think Seth will be too happy if we switch things up on him."

“Just because Seth split us up into groups, doesn't mean we have to listen. We could leave them behind right now, and just forget about them," Ander suggested, still spinning his ring as he struggled to keep his calm mask in place.

“But wouldn't that be selfish? Isn't that why we came here in the first place, to help?" Harmony asked, joining Reed in preparing the ingredients, by chopping up the vegetables.

“Yes, but—"

“Ignoring our problems won't make them go away. We can't pretend Koa doesn't exist, and that he isn't Jade's fated mate. As we saw last night, it doesn't work. They need this time together to sort out their shit. As long as Jade's sure she can handle it." Harmony paused her chopping and gave me an inquisitive stare.

It was way too tempting to agree with Ander and run, but I knew Harmony was right. I needed to know what happened, I'd always be left wondering what went wrong if I didn't. Not that I'd admit this out loud, but I was kind of excited at the thought of being around Koa again.

Pathetic, I know.

“I'll be fine."

Ander wanted to argue, but he let it go for now, knowing he wasn't going to win this argument.

After a quick lunch, we went to our rooms and grabbed our bags. As I was pulling my bag out of the armoire, I felt the bond thrum and give a slight tug. While an inconvenience this past month, this bond was now the bell I'd wanted for Koa the moment I met him.

They were waiting for us down in the shop, with Parker and Seth discussing a few of the amulets. Starling was looking down at her wristband, and whatever it was, it didn't make her happy. Not with the way she kept squinting at it, as if that would change what she saw.

I knew where Koa was without looking. I always knew. It was like a magnetizing force, pulling me toward him. And no matter how hard I fought, I couldn't stop myself from peeking his way. Only to find him staring at me in that intense, unabashed way of his. How could he do that? How could he have no shame, and watch me like he didn't crush me?

A warm body brushed against my leg, but when I looked down, I couldn't find Rowan. I guess I was right to not have mentioned her to Seth, and request she joined the other group. It didn't mean that Seth wasn't trustworthy, just that she was unsure of him.

“Follow me," was all Seth said, before striding out the door, expecting us to follow.

“Good thing I'm not in the same group as him," Ander commented as we followed him out the door.

I was more than happy to be leaving this city and getting away from this fucking heat. During our walk through the city, I had to pause and pull a headband out of my bag, to get my sweaty bangs out of my face.

“If you find anything, let us know and we'll do the same," Seth said to Ander during our walk, giving him instructions on what to look out for. Telling him, if he had any questions, to just ask Starling. I barely was able to conceal my snort at that, Ander's face was priceless.

Once we were out the city, Parker began chanting and doing hand gestures as he created a portal. It was strongly recommended to create portals outside of the towns and cities. While he was busy, we chose this moment to say a brief goodbye, telling each other to stay safe.

I kept my hugs brief, and unfortunately, Ander noticed. His brow furrowed as I quickly pulled away. After a few moments of squinting at me, his eyes widened and his mouth gaped. I shook my head, panic building at the thought of him saying something in front of everyone else.

Ander glanced over at Koa, who was intently watching out conversation. When his gaze returned to mine, all of his shock was gone, and in its place was a blank expression. He grabbed my hands, making sure he kept his distance. "Trust yourself. You know better than anyone else what you do and don't deserve." He gave my hands one last squeeze as he shot me a knowing look. Knowing this past month, I had begun trusting myself less and less. But how could I trust myself, when I had thought Koa was the one for me, and that he felt the same for me?

I gave him a tight-lipped smile, turning away before he could read the indecision on my face. The portal whirled into existence, with swirls of gold amongst the various shades of blue.

Shooting one last look at Ander and Reed, I stepped through the portal and landed in the dusk court.

In front of me was a spacious lake. Instead of being blue, green, or brown, the water was silver. The cloudy sky above was reflected into the water until a fish almost the size of Rowan jumped out of the water and splashed back in, rippling the reflected image.

“So this is the Mirrored City," Harmony marveled, having stepped out of the portal behind me.

My attention lifted from the lake to the houses surrounding the lake on the other side, built from silver reflective glass. Around the perimeter of the lake was sparkling sand, and when I scooped it up, I realized it was ground-up glass.

The bond abruptly gave a sharp tug, forcing me to lose my balance. I would've had a mouthful of sand-glass, had it not been for the strong and hot hands catching me at the last second. With our first contact in over a month, the bond flared in my chest, beating as wildly as my heart.

His hands remained on my waist, even after pulling me back up. The heat from his hands seeped through my shirt, heating my body and blood. His familiar spicy scent surround me, making me want to bury my face against his chest and deeply breathe it in. My gaze snapped to his and was instantly entranced by his burning gold eyes. My wolf pressed against the surface, needing to be closer to him.

“The Mirrored City being made of fucking mirrors is a little too on the nose for my taste," Parker commented, snapping me out of the trance. My mouth was only a few inches from Koa's, and I had no idea how that happened.

Koa's hands slowly slid away from my hips as I stepped back, my body buzzing with energy and desire. Fucking traitor. Koa's eyes snapped shut, and when they reopened, were amber once more.

“Well I think it's beautiful," Harmony shot back, looking out over the rippling silver surface of the water.

“You should see it when the sun is setting," Seth murmured, his eyes taking on a faraway look.

We followed the pathway between the houses and as we did, the coarse glass path changed to a broken mirror mosaic, reflecting us and the sky in broken patterns. Everywhere I turned, there were reflections of us, some distorted from the patterns etched into the mirrored glass of the buildings.

It was surreal being in this city, I'd heard many stories and even seen illustrations, but nothing could compare to seeing it in real life. Now I wished we were still here at dusk, so I could see its beauty in the setting sun.

Moving throughout the city, I noticed the colors of the mirrored glass shifting, changing from silver to pink, orange, purple, yellow, and then back. None of the buildings had any visible windows on them, nor did they have visible doors.

We eventually came across a spacious courtyard, with a small bubbling fountain in the center. Unlike the one in the Convergence point, this one didn't contain a gaudy statue in the center. It was a simple tiered fountain, made from translucent glass. As were the benches and trees. The trees surrounding the courtyard were the same shades as the buildings, with long branches dotted with bright glass flowers. During our walk, the sun had peeked through the clouds and was now shining through the trees, sending gorgeous sunset colors onto the mirrored ground. Which in turn reflected the lights.

The result was stunning, and I could stare at it all day, admiring its beauty. Okay, that was a lie, I would get bored within an hour, but the sentiment still stood. What was up with the blood mage courts having the most beautiful cities?

It was a bit strange being around trees and not smelling the scents usually associated with them.

As much as I loved the view, that wasn't why we came here. "Are we sightseeing, or is this where the latest attack happened?" I asked, looking for any telltale signs that a fight broke out here, even though I knew there wouldn’t be.

“The fight broke out there"—Seth pointed at the area in front of the nearest building, and surprisingly, I saw gouges in the pathway—"and then made its way there." He then pointed at the purple building next door. "Wait here."

That was all he said, before heading toward the building. While I was annoyed he was barking out orders, and just expected us to do as we were told, I was more curious about how he would get into the building without a door. I expected him to slow down as he neared the building, but he didn't. Harmony was gasping along with me when he walked right into the wall. I expected him to smack into the wall cartoon-style and fall back on his ass, but he didn't. The wall around him rippled almost like it was water as it swallowed his body.

“Holy shit," I whispered, still staring at where disappeared.

“Do you know the details of what happened here?" Harmony asked Koa, her tone holding notes of accusation.

I shot a glance over at Koa, wondering if he'd answer. As soon as I looked at him, his gaze shifted to mine. For once, I didn't break the stare. Raising an eyebrow, I took a seat on one of the uncomfortable benches. Would it have killed them to use a cushion?

My plan was to wait him out and have him speak first, but unfortunately, he was well-versed in my lack of patience. It didn't take me long to shift around on this insult they called a bench and huff out an annoyed sigh. "Do you know or not, you stubborn bastard of a dragon?"

The timing of my outburst was impeccable, as it was at the same time Parker was taking a drink from his thermos. He spat out his water as he choked. I couldn't focus on his reaction, not with that damn slow grin curling Koa's lips.

Motherfucker.

“Stubborn bastard of a dragon?" He repeated my words with a small chuckle, reminding me how his laugh still mesmerized me. Damn him for using my weaknesses against me right now.

“To answer your question, no I don't." I didn't know what surprised me more, the fact that he wasn't in the know, or that he didn't seem the least bit annoyed about it. "From what I can tell, It happened no more than a couple of hours ago.

“Why haven't they repaired the damage?" Harmony asked taking a seat beside me, cringing when she realized it was uncomfortable. Making her dumbass like me, because who in their right mind, would think a glass bench was comfortable?

“They were probably waiting on Seth for analysis," Parker said, having recovered from his coughing fit. His arms were crossed, and his fingers tapped out a rhythm on his biceps.

We waited around for what felt like forever but was only thirty minutes. I was wrong about being content sitting here for hours. This shit was boring as hell. But then again, that could also be due to the fact, that Seth left us out here with no information. As if we were his dogs that he left tied up outside, while he went into the supermarket. All we needed was a fucking leash tying us in place.

“Doesn't this shit bother you?" I asked Koa as I paced around the courtyard.

He lifted an eyebrow, looking relaxed on the bench even though I knew it was a lie. No one could be comfortable sitting on that shit. "Your pacing?"

“Funny. You know that's not what I meant." My lips twitched, betraying my annoyed tone.

“We'll find out what he knows when he returns. It's best to let him do his initial analysis alone." Koa shrugged, and I was starting to believe it genuinely didn't bother him.

“It's easier to get an accurate reading when there aren't competing energies nearby," Parker confirmed.

“So you're saying he doesn't hide shit, and keep important details to himself?" My words sort of had their desired effect. While his expression didn't change, I briefly felt a twinge of what I thought was regret. It was hard to be sure, the emotion was there one moment and gone the next. Was he able to shield his emotions from me?

I opened my mouth to ask him, and in doing so, bringing up the oversized elephant in the room that we've been dancing around. Before I could do so, Seth rejoined us in the courtyard, his expression blank. "I've got a lock on where a blackout is occurring."

It was hard work to stop myself from asking rapid-fire questions. Now wasn't the time for talking, otherwise, we'd miss the opportunity to see one of the blackouts in action.

He had Parker create a portal directly to the Beach houses in the Water court. Here's hoping we found out what the hell was going on, and that nothing bad would happen to us in the process.