I took an extra second to hug myself very tightly to Braxton. This might be the last moment of happiness I had for a while and I was going to milk the hell out of it.

He lifted me closer to his face and said, “It will be okay, I will keep you safe.”

Snow coated our faces and I raised mine to meet him in another kiss. Now might not be the best time for a make out session, but really … who gives a shit.

Eventually, though, we had no choice but to rejoin reality. I was back on my feet, and with our hands tightly linked Braxton and I made our way to the rest of the group, standing in front of Louis’ doorway. I met the sorcerer’s purple eyes and knowledge of what the next few hours was all about flooded back in. It was time. We were going to Krakov.

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The step-through took us from a snowstormed mountain range down into a valley of sorts. Concealed within this valley was a medium sized town. I was going to guess this was the gateway community which protected Krakov. Which thankfully meant that there’d only be supernaturals here. We wouldn’t have to hide our otherness.

It appeared to be laid out similarly to Stratford, but with the more snow friendly style of chalet dwellings. These homes surrounded a few large square “meeting hall” structures.

It was still freezing, but the area was protected from the worst of the storm. The scenery looked familiar, so I assumed we were still in the same region of Romania – in the Carpathian Mountains. From what I could see from our higher vantage point, the area was probably around ten miles in diameter, nestled down in what looked like the crater of a volcano. Mountain ranges encased the quaint little town.

“This is Bruvnest,” said Louis. “Their securities are breachable because I’ve been here before, but there is no easy way into Krakov.” His regal features shifted to the bitch twins … yeah, I’d upgraded them from fruit. “It’s your party now, ladies. Whatever plan you have set in motion, you’d better move your asses. The townsfolk are starting to catch on that we are here.”

He wasn’t even kidding. Members of the community were emerging from wherever they had been. Rugged, they had the distinct size and appearance of our familiar supernatural races. I wasn’t surprised to see they had a lot of trolls here. They were always around mountains and rocky areas.

I heard the townsfolk murmuring amongst themselves. No one spoke English. It sounded Eastern European … Romanian. Which would make sense, you know, since that’s where we were. As they closed in, I could hear them more clearly.

“Ce naiba?” was a popular phrase.

Louis was keeping an eye on them, his gaze unwavering, streams of power emanating from him.