Different.

Chapter 24: A Night of Surprises

When I was able to stand, I noticed he didn't pull away immediately. Instead he lingered, looking down at the way our hands were clasped tightly together, and almost caressing invisible circles into the back of one of mine with his thumb. It was so brief that I wasn't sure if anyone but me had noticed, but for however long it lasted I was overwhelmed with a bubbly feeling rooted in my stomach.

Oh my god. Am I getting butterflies?

"I think it's clear, we should be good to go," Jenna broke the spell that had settled over seemingly only Adam and I, and he let my hands drop back to my side gently.

I was afraid that he was going to pretend that nothing had just passed between us-or even worse, that nothing had and I had just imagined it-but he must've sensed my worry because he looked up bashfully and flashed me a smile before turning to follow the others.

Yup, definitely butterflies.

I didn't have the luxury of worrying about my emotions just then though, I reminded myself firmly. I needed to focus on the task at hand. It was going to take concentration to stop myself from using my dark magick, especially if things went south. Finish the job now, think about how soft Adams hands are later.

Catching up with my longer-legged companions, I peeked out of the foliage to the entrance we had all seen in Santiago's vision. It looked different at night and through my own eyes, but it was still recognizably the same place.

A few trees with their branches tangled together in a high arch were slumped behind the haphazard circle of boulders. Spiderwebs sprinkled with dew flapped with the gentle wind just below the intertwined branches, like somber flags. The vibrant green color of the leaves felt out of place, and that only made things seem all the more unsettling. Even the way they whispered against each other when the breeze blew hard enough put me on edge.

"I don't get it, where is the entrance or whatever? In the trees?"

Sounding impatient, Alexander replied, "I don't have time to explain everything to you Kaylee. It's like the day we first saw each other, the doorway is where those trees are. It's disguised using a special kind of seer magick so you can't see it until you walk through. Which is gonna be a problem for us."

"But I could see the forest or whatever it was on that day before I walked in. That doesn't even make sense Alex."

"It's the same concept, but different executions," Delaney cut in when she saw Alex's murderous expression. "I don't know where you're talking about, but I'm guessing that that entrance was disguised so that only people with magick could see it. Which is smart, just not smart enough. Luckily not very many people who live up here have magick without someone knowing."

"Ah, I get it now. Thanks Delaney."

Don't give Alex the evil eye, don't give Alex the evil eye, don't give Alex the evil eye.

"The only way you're ever going to catch up to the rest of us is if you stop dragging yourself behind Kaylee. Save the studying for back home. Being out here is all about taking action."

With that he shifted up a fist sized rock and slung it full force into the space between the arching trees. Instead of eventually sliding to a stop in the dirt though, it disappeared into thin air.

"If someone's in there they'll see that and hopefully come out. That's about as much as we can do, unless either of you" He glanced at the twins, "can hear anything?"

They shook their heads in unison.

"Nothing past our group-"

"-It's psychic silence."