We fall and fall. We fall so long it feels like we’ll never reach the portal in the water below us. God I hope Lahyr was right about this magic stuff. He has to be right. Right?

Finally, we hit the water, or the portal? I’m not sure if it’s one or the other or both at the same time, but whatever it is, we hit it. As soon as I hit it my body feels warm, then cold, and I feel electricity zing my skin. It feels as if I can feel everything, and yet nothing at the same time. Like I’m flying through space without a spaceship, but floating effortlessly still. It’s so disorienting that it takes me a few seconds to realize my hand is empty, and I can’t feel Jess. When I open my eyes, everything glows with colors I don’t think I’ve ever seen before, and somehow pulses with the absence of color. I can’t see Jess anywhere so I decide to just close my eyes, the other experiences more than enough for me.

“Jess!” I call out, floundering what I think is my arms but I can’t quite be sure.

“Jamie! Where are you?” Jess answers, sounding like she’s yelling from the other end of a tunnel.

“I don’t know! Are you okay?”

Is there even a way to tell where you are in here? How long did this damn portal last? I had wrongly assumed it would be like the sci-fi movies where you jumped through and ended up on the other side in a second. It felt like we’ve been in here forever.

“I’m fine-“ Jess’s voice cut out as I was spit onto a hard surface.

Reaching out, I feel dirt underneath my hands. The ground then. When I open my eyes, the world spins, like when I was a kid and spun myself around too fast in a wheely chair. I groan and close my eyes again, waiting out the dreadful feeling.

Feeling it pass, I open my eyes and drag myself to a sitting position. It feels like I got run over by a bus. I had severely underestimated the power of a portal.

I look around then, trying to spot Jess. Only to see a forest so vast and dense it seemed to consume the whole world. Woah, Lahyr was not kidding. This must be the magical woods he was telling us about. They had a special name, but I hadn’t bothered to remember it. That seems like a mistake on my part now.

I landed on a patch of dirt in a small clearing, maybe 15 feet around me. Jess though, did not, it seems. I pull myself to my feet and dust my clothes off. Turning around in a circle, I start scanning the forest ground for my twin. Her fair blonde hair should be easy to spot here, but I don’t see her anywhere. That’s not good. Maybe the portal spit her out a little farther out. I hope.

“Jess!”

No response. Shit.

“Jess! Can you hear me?” I call again.

Nothing.

This is not good. What if the portal spit her out somewhere else entirely? What if it didn’t spit her out at all? I don’t know how those things work, Lahyr is the one who set it up. What if she smacked her head against a rock when she got thrown out and she’s bleeding out with a cracked skull? Fuck. Focus. That’s what Jess would tell me. Stop playing the what if game and focus.

Pushing a hand through my forehead length brown hair, I turn around and start walking. I don’t know where I’m going, but I have to start somewhere.

I walk and walk, not seeing her anywhere, and every moment without her my anxiety grows. Where the hell is Lahyr? He’s supposed to be here. We don’t know this place, at all. He said he would help us get new clothes and guide us so we don’t stick out like a sore thumb with our modern selves.

Suddenly, I hear a sound behind me. Like if someone had fallen out of a tree and landed on their feet. Turning around quickly, I see Lahyr standing there in all his glory, a portal of wild hues closing behind him.

Broad shoulders and a proud chest, likely covered in a thin and respectable patch of black hair that matched his long, straight, beautiful locks. Not that I would know. Or would be finding out. He is wearing a hunter green cloak, pulled up over his head and encasing his face in shadow like in some fantasy movie. I could tell it was him, telling myself it wasn’t because I’d memorized the exact shape of his body and would never be able to forget. I would have to forget.

He pulls his cloak back from his head, revealing a brown cloth tunic and brown leather pants, outfitted with belts carrying things I didn’t know the names of. His face, which I definitely didn’t avoid looking at for as long as possible, wears a lopsided and sharp grin with relaxed eyes. It pulls the scar that runs across his lips on the left side of his face taught, and I wonder if that feels uncomfortable.

“Jaime, you are well.” He says, sounding relieved.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine. But Jess is missing.” I tell him quickly.

His brows furrow, black and full and perfectly formed. He turns and looks around quickly, narrowing his eyes. As he moves, his long hair shifts to reveal a pointed ear. I should find it weird or off putting. I don’t.

“Is this where you appeared?”

“No, I got spat out in a clearing behind me, I think. When I couldn’t find Jess I just started walking. How come she didn’t get spit out with me?” I ask, taking a step closer.

“I don’t know. Portals can be unpredictable, especially if you’re going somewhere you don’t know.” He says, his eyes locking with mine again.

“That would have been nice to know. How did you find me so easily?”

“My magic knows how to find yours, I will always find you.” He says, taking a step towards me.

Oh Jesus. He knows just what to say to make a man blush.

“I don’t know what that means.” I admit, with a warm face, not even mentioning the last part of his statement.

“We’ll get to magic lessons, first we must find your sister.” He says, leaning forward and brushing a strand of my hair out of my face.

I lean forward without noticing, my far less muscled chest brushing his. His eyes seem to burn as his nose comes closer to mine.

“Jamie!” Jess’ voice snaps the moment as fast a thread being cut, and I back away quickly seeing disappointment in Lahyr’s eyes before I look in the direction I heard Jess.

“Over here!” I yell, finally spotting her about 30 yards away.

She turns her had in my direction and smiles, I think, before pushing up her glasses and crossing the distance between us quickly.

“Thank god, I thought I was gonna be lost in this forest searching for my little brother forever.” She says when she reaches me, pulling me into her arms.

“2 minutes is really not big enough of a difference to call me little.” I tell her, putting my arms around her shoulders.

“2 minutes with me born and you not makes you my little brother.”

I roll my eyes at her as we pull apart, the same eyes she has. Green with flakes of brown strewn about. Finally I can breathe. As I step back, Lahyr comes to stand next to me.

“Hello, Jess. I am Lahyr, I have heard of you from my mate. It is nice to finally meet you.” He says, bowing his head in respect as if he didn’t say something entirely deranged.

Jess’ eyes eyes bulge and she glances at me quickly with her eyebrows up to her hairline. I hadn’t told her anything about Lahyr’s crazy idea that I am his mate, because it doesn’t matter. He is willing to help her, even if it’s to help me. Once we go back to the real world, it won’t matter. It can’t matter. Luckily she’s stunned into silence, and I take my opportunity to move this on.

“Right, Jess, Lahyr. Lahyr, Jess. Let’s get going so we can get this over with.” I say after shaking my head at Jess, telling her to not ask any questions. I motion between them like when I say their names, pretending like Lahyr hadn’t introduced himself or said anything at all. Especially us being mates.

Lahyr glances at me and our eyes lock, and I get the feeling he knows what I’m doing. I don’t make any expression, feigning innocence.

“Right, yes. Let us go. First we should get you two some proper attire.” Lahyr says after a tense moment, turning and striding behind him. Me and Jess share a glance before following him.

Time to go down the yellow brick road.