Prince Hiko was less limited than most, therefore our excursion raised no questions. Leaving the reservation had never proven difficult for me, regardless of his presence. Not that I did it often on my own.

I had taken Isay to the forest few days ago just as effortlessly as we passed the gate now.

She held a childlike wonderment in her eyes as we neared the portal that made me wonder if she’d ever been to Earth. Considering she was younger than me and from Elverstone where nothing was amiss, I doubted she’d even seen a portal.

“We’re going out out?” she exclaimed in bewilderment.

“Yep.” Grinning from her excitement alone, I pressed harder on the gas to get through the portal faster.

“Don’t tell me you’ve never been out out?” Hiko called from the back, repeating Isay’s expression for Earth but not even coming close to matching her enthusiasm.

Her eyes searched mine for support, and I found it absolutely thrilling to give her a ‘go ahead, speak your mind’ nod. I’d back her up if Hiko had a problem with her. He sounded more curious than spiteful, though.

“The portal in Elverstone is guarded. They say it’s to keep evil out, but since I never even got within a mile of it, I also think it was to keep us in. There are, of course, more portals in the county, but I was never allowed to travel far.” Her face contorted in distaste, “It wasn’t safe. As if my mother even understands the concept.”

Hiko barked a laugh, and a tension I hadn’t known I held onto loosened in my shoulders. He wasn’t going to start a fight again. Ferro would have to come around eventually too; it was four against one. He couldn’t stick to hating her with these odds.

“Quite a paradise where you come from. In Vindica we have more freedom to roam,” the prince said.

“We do, Hiko,” Regar chirped in cheerfully. “We do. It is important to note that most of that freedom comes from a promise to only look and don’t touch. Isn’t that right, Kar?”

Thanks, asshole. “Pretty much sums it up.”

Speaking of touching, Isay’s skirt had ridden up and exposed a delicious patch of skin beneath. Only for looking, she was only for looking just like Regar had pointed out with way too much delight. That bastard thrived on seeing others squirm, and I’d become his favourite pastime.

We were swiftly nearing the portal, and I slowed a bit to let Isay see the shimmering surface of it before we passed through. Ferro and Sinister glided past us on their motorcycles and disappeared through the wavy barrier in seconds.

The origin story of the portals I had heard blamed Vindica. Big surprise there. Apparently, we didn’t only conjure delthers from our nightmares the past few centuries, but millenia ago, we also drove the human population residing in Belfea out. Their escape had left behind a portal connecting Belfea to Earth.

This link could not be severed, despite the various magics used in the attempts. Instead, other cracks and portals broke out across Belfea, further strengthening the connection. Our portal was said to be the very first.

“Okay, just take a deep breath. Close your eyes if you feel dizzy. We’re going through,” I instructed Isay just before the car’s bumper touched the portal and time both slowed and rushed ahead all at once.

The wasteland we’d been driving through flickered in and out, until my vision sharpened again and the road turned to the sidestrip of a highway which made for a bumpy ride before the car wheels hit asphalt.

We weren’t entirely happy with the Earthside location of our portal, since we always needed a vehicle to pass through and depending on the hour it could get rather dangerous passing without seeing the traffic ahead. I did not manage to merge smoothly as the driver I cut off stomped on the horn.

He hadn’t seen me coming and must’ve been shocked to see a car appear in front of him practically out of thin air.

Speeding up to not lose the motorcycles ahead, I glanced over at Isay. She was blinking her eyes, mouth agape as she scanned the high-rise buildings we were headed towards.

“That’s… big,” she retorted in awe, and both of my other passengers choked out a laugh.

“You’ve seen nothing yet,” Regar pointed out helpfully.

I shifted in my seat, catching more chuckles from behind me. “Stop it, why don’t you? She didn’t mean to appease your dirty minds. You were likely dumbstruck seeing Los Angeles for the first time, too. Big just about describes it.”

“Or you’re afraid to fall short of the word and thus change the topic.” Regar leaned in between the two front seats to gauge Isay’s reaction. “Do you think he could compete with Los Angeles?”

That blush was turning my insides to jelly. “Ah… I… don’t think my opinion on this matters.”

“She doesn’t think—Kar, have you told her you’ve called dibs on her after the wedding?” Regar looked back and forth between me and Isay, who now turned beet red.

I shoved Regar back into the seat. “I’ve been perfectly transparent. Even the king knew to point it out.”

Hiko smirked. “Sorry about my father. He’s been rather single-minded as of late. You’ve got my approval. I suggest you take your chances while the ring still works. It’s hard to come by.”

I cleared my throat. “Thanks man, but I’ll wait for Isay’s approval first.”

She was looking out the side window, avoiding my eyes and pretending to be immersed in the scenery. I knew better. Her lips parted and puffs of air fogged the window; there was no way she could see through.

“Why don’t we talk about your love life instead?” I suggested. “You’ll need to choose a mate eventually to keep the line going. Have anyone in mind?”

“Smooth,” Hiko laughed. “Very smooth. And no, our court holds no such treasures. On the off chance my father forces an arranged marriage, I’ll likely die alone.”

“So dramatic.” Regar pumped his fist to Hiko’s shoulder in an affectionate gesture I never gave any deeper meaning to until now.

I studied the two from the rearview mirror, sure I’d read more into it than was really going on, but when Hiko grabbed his fist and pulled at it instead of shoving him farther I was completely sure. Surprise, surprise, Regar slammed shoulder to chest with Hiko, before they both slid back to their respective seats.

“Holy shit, you two are pumping fists.”

Hands raised on the back seat, Isay turned around in hers to stare at the males, her cheeks still rosy and both of the men in question stuttered denials.

“What? No!”

“Definitely not!”

“Oh yeah,” I agreed, my voice betraying sarcasm. “Clearly not. And there you go giving me a hard time.”

“The king doesn’t know,” Regar offered with a sly smile, getting punched in the side for his affirmation. “We’d like to keep it this way.”

“My lips are sealed.” I looked to Isay, who nodded solemnly.

“He’s no friend of mine,” she said with such passion I could almost taste it on my tongue.

Right, I was still starved.

The club Regar had chosen was one of our regulars. The human at the front nodded us through without a second glance and then we were surrounded by loud thumping music and bodies grating against each other.

Usually, the guys would go on a search for an approved meal, but none of them needed to feed, so we headed to the bar. Without thinking twice about it, I guided Isay with my hand on her back. The fabric of her dress was a bigger barrier between my fingers and her skin than I liked while also providing to be a relief. I gave her every opportunity to pull away, but she did not, and that was fucking satisfying.

I leaned closer to her ear so she could hear me through the music. “What would you like to drink, beautiful?”

She still held the scent of forest flowers and sunshine with a hint of something sour. Not necessarily bad, but also not what she’d smelled like a few days prior. I was afraid the influence of delther life force within her ran deeper than just her eyesight, but so long as it didn’t interfere with her everyday life, I wasn’t going to worry her with it. I’d merely keep an eye on her.

“Anything but what I had at my mother’s wedding,” Isay called over the thumping music, her lips twisted into a grimace.

A cocktail. I’d get her a cocktail.