already present, dressed in the same outfit as us except a two-piece that was baggier where needed.
“I’ll punch in the coordinates for the Otherworld, and then we can walk through,” Oliver said and headed over to what I had thought was just a rock, but it revealed a pin pad as soon as it was touched.
“So, we step through the water, and then the Otherworld will be on the opposite side?” I asked Jordan.
“Well, sort of. We walk through, you float through time and space, and then you stumble into the Otherworld, but you’ll be fine. We’ve only lost two people in a few thousand years.”
My eyes widened, but before I could say anything, the waterfall lit up in a golden hue and I was being dragged toward it, all the while hoping I wasn’t going to end up in some void for the rest of eternity.
“Wait!” a deep voice called, and Jordan cursed.
“We were so close,” she grumbled.
Turning around, I saw Ryland leaning against a rock and glaring daggers at Jordan. “You lied.”
“Did I? I think I was just confused. How about we catch up later? Bye!”
Jordan pushed me into the portal with no notice, and I screamed louder than ever before while praying to the Fates I wasn’t about to die.
Chapter Seventeen
About thirty seconds later, I crashed onto squishy ground while still screaming. I’d never been so scared in my entire life, including when I had known I was going to die and turn into a magical being.
“What the hell, Jordan?” I snapped as she appeared right next to me, landing softly on her feet.
“You don’t need any distractions right now. Ryland is one of those, so I took care of him. You have other things to focus on today. Like blending into the Otherworld, meeting with some important people, and making them love you like I do. Ryland doesn’t need to be a part of any of that with his brooding attitude.”
While I was still pissed that she pushed me into the dark abyss, she did make a point. Especially after my earlier conversation with Ryland, I didn’t need him around reminding me of his rejection. It was really stupid that I even let it bother me in the first place.
I hardly knew the guy. He barely spoke to me and usually made me feel like crap when he did have something to say. The only good things about him were that he was nice to kids and an alright guardian.
Okay, he was better than alright, but I’d never tell him that. Or tell him how every time he got really frustrated with me, his eyes darkened just a few shades and I lost myself in them. Or how I noticed the tick in his jaw every time Oliver put his hands on me to help my form in training.
The tension with Ryland was more than I could stand some days, but I was drawn to him regardless. I hated it just as much as I adored it, which further pissed me off.
Jordan’s fingers snapped in front of me. “Did you hear anything I just said?”
When I turned around, I noticed Oliver and Stryx were also present, and they were all looking at me expectantly. “Uh, no. Being thrown into an abyss messed with my head. You only have yourself to blame for that.”
The trip through the portal wasn’t all that scary once it was over. The only part that had frightened me was the unknown. As I was sucked into the vortex, everything around me darkened until, about halfway through, there were twinkling lights that reminded me of the stars I used to admire at night when I was at Multnomah Falls.
Then, just seconds before I was spit back out, the light around me grew so bright, I threw my arm over my eyes and spun around until I landed my ass onto ground that I hadn’t even really checked out yet. Of course, I’d arrived in a new world and been completely oblivious to the beauty around me.
Jordan huffed and walked away as Stryx landed on my shoulder and Oliver took off after Jordan. “What do you think?” Stryx asked.
“I think I’m in way over my head, but I’m going to keep doing my best, because I’m stubborn like that and refuse to fail.” Complete honesty was the only way to go with him since he knew my true heart anyway. Stupid bonds.
“Our bond isn’t stupid, Kaliah. I know you don’t mean it that way,