behind, closing my eyes just in case this sort of traveling would trigger the same nausea as teleporting. A freezing wind engulfed my body, making me shiver. After counting to five, I opened my eyes again and squinted against the glaring brightness, and for a brief moment I thought I was back home in Siberia.
Chapter 10
The greenery of the Scottish Highlands was gone. Instead, I found myself surrounded by snow. And when I say surrounded, I mean lots of it, as in everywhere. If it wasn't for the bright sun and the rising mountains in the distance, I could have sworn we were back home in Siberia, not least because it was just as cold. Shivering against the thin material, I wrapped Thrain's jacket around me and wondered whether he would follow. A moment later, he stepped through the portal and I breathed out, relieved.
"Damn. This thing's malfunctioned again," Cass said, shaking her phone about as though that might help.
Thrain's green eyes gleamed as he shot me an amused look. I smiled back. The way the sun reflected on his tan skin made my heart skip a beat. My fingers itched to touch him. But touching wasn't an option. Not when we both had a mission to fulfill and I had absolutely no excuse for reaching out to him.
"Need help?" he asked Cass.
"Why would I?" she snapped. "I designed this thing, remember?"
He held up a hand, grinning. "Hey, chill. I just thought—"
"Don't think. Just be a pretty face." She walked away, huffing and scoffing at the phone.
"She doesn't mean it," Thrain whispered. "Ever since Dallas died, she's been a bit cranky."
"Who could blame her?" I wanted to tell him that I could emphasize with Cass because I knew what it was like to lose a loved one. I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it again as he grabbed my hand and gave it a light squeeze as though he could somehow sense it.
"Hold on to me," Thrain said, wrapping his arm around my waist. "We wouldn't want you to slip. Or worse—turn into an ice cube."
Grateful, I leaned into him to soak up the warmth emitted by his skin. Even though he was wearing short sleeves, he wasn't even shivering while the cold was slowly creeping into my bones. Soon, I wouldn't be able to keep my teeth from clattering. We caught up with Cass. Her head was still bowed over the phone and grim lines had formed around her mouth.
"Hey, boss, maybe we should call the customer service helpline," Thrain said, winking at me.
Cass rolled her eyes. "Aren't you hilarious?"
I didn't get their joke until Thrain explained, "She worked in customer service. We used to crack jokes about her customers, and in particular about those who couldn't figure out how to use a phone." I looked into his eyes, interested. A reaper working in a nine to five job? I never expected that. He pulled me closer until I could feel his warm breath on my temple as he spoke. "Anyway, I wish she could stop being so stubborn and let me have a look. If that thing doesn't work soon, we might end up having to think about sleeping quarters for the night because there's no way she'll give up."
"I heard that," Cass yelled. Her voice echoed in the distance. The snow crackled beneath our feet. I watched in horror as a huge chunk of snow broke off from one of the mountains and rained down the pit.
"Not only will we freeze to death, we'll also die buried beneath a huge layer of snow," I whispered.
Thrain laughed. "I didn't know you were psychic as well. Beauty and talent, now that's quite a catch."
I found myself laughing with him as his words kept replaying in my mind. Forget the talent remark, he found me beautiful. I had heard that one before, but coming from him it actually meant something. I really hoped he meant it and it wasn't the usual pick up line he told every girl.
"Are you two courting or what? Come on, we haven't got all eternity," Cass yelled.
"For a moment I was inclined to believe we did, Cass, because that's how long this is taking," Thrain answered. Cass grinned back and motioned us to hurry up. I peered at them, wondering how long they had been friends that they felt so at ease around one another. A pang of jealousy grabbed hold of me, not because I didn't like them to be friends, but