16. Tempi

CHAPTER 16

TEMPI

A fter the first initial scream while being yanked into the blackhole, I don't scream again. In fact, I just grit my teeth against the feeling of falling end over end and wait to be spit back out somewhere else. I'm so fucking tired of this. I'm tired. I'm annoyed. And now I have a new unwilling guest to my shitshow of a life. I just want to sleep in my own bed, maybe go on a vacation. Somewhere these portals can't find me. I could use a pretty beach and a cold margarita.

Goldie blips out of the portal a split second before I do. I exit right after him and shriek just a little when I realize how high up I am. There's no time to catch myself before I land square on top of Goldie with an oof from me and a grunt from him as my elbow probably jabs him right in the chest. The air rushes out of my lungs and I struggle to take in more air. Before I can, Goldie unceremoniously shoves me off him and I go sprawling in the dirt. I never even got a chance to catch my bearings.

" Tu puta madre !" I sputter as I find my breath. "Was that necessary?"

He stands up and dusts himself off, looking around us curiously. He doesn't answer my question. "Where are we?"

I scowl up at him. I shove my hair out of my face, realizing I must have lost my damn hair tie at some point. My curly hair is frizzy and wild around my face. "I don't know," I admit, glancing around. "I don't even know if this is my worl?—"

"Take me back," Goldie interrupts, his eyes hard.

I drag myself to my feet and look up at him. He's significantly taller than me, and I'm not short. I suppose anyone wearing a crown has to be tall, so they have a presence, right? I eye the golden band and wonder how much it's worth. I also wonder if I can grab it and keep it long enough to be sucked back into my world. Something tells me I wouldn't have to worry about my rent if I had had that thing with me.

I cock my hip and raise my brow at Goldie, wondering where he learned his manners. "What do I look like?" I ask, staring at him. "A magic genie?"

"You brought me here?—"

"I didn't do shit," I spit. "The magic portal brought us here. You think if I could control them, I'd have been in the Underworld in the first place? Estúpido ."

I spin and look around us. We appear to be in a forest, but besides that, I can't really tell if it's a familiar forest or not. I can't exactly say I've traveled to many of the National Geographic type destinations. This could very well be like Yellowstone or some shit. I doubt it, but who knows? The other option is that this isn't my world at all. I'm willing to bet it's not. The trees have this sort of. . . sparkle. . . to them. Which is strange. I don't think any of our trees sparkle. My mind immediately goes off the deep end.

"This is the trunk of a killer, Bella," I mock and then chuckle under my breath. When Goldie looks over at me, I school my features into a more serious one. "Sorry. Yeah, I don't know where we are."

He looks around with a frown. "A forest of some sort."

I roll my eyes. "No shit. Dios mío . Has anyone ever told you how frustrating you are? I've known you for all of ten minutes and already I can't stand you."

He stares at me. "Yes. I've been told before."

When he doesn't elaborate, I snort. "Well, good. That's something someone should know about themselves, I suppose."

Goldie runs a leather-gloved hand through his hair, adjusting his crown. Somehow, he still looks perfectly put together whereas I look like I've been through a hurricane. Why aren't his clothes disheveled? Why do I look so ridiculous and he's still fucking pretty? It's unfair.

"We should figure out how to get back," he declares.

"Good luck," I grumble, sitting down on a fallen log. "Whatever magic that supposedly brings the magic portals to me, there's no way to predict it."

"Merge," he corrects.

"What?"

"They're called a merge. Not a magic portal."

I throw up my hands. "Oh, lo siento . Excuse me for not knowing the proper name for your magic portals . Blackhole. Portal. Merge. It doesn't really fucking matter, does it? They don't appear on command, so we're stuck here until one blesses us with its presence."

He studies me. Even his eyes are golden, as if the color chose him rather than the other way around. It's weird. Definitely something a demon would do. Maybe he's a demon like those other horned things? That would make sense.

"The merges are attracted to you?" he asks.

"Yes," I admit. "This isn't my first rodeo. Or even my second. I've lost count of how many times this has happened at this point."

He tilts his head. "There's something inside you then?—"

"It's not a fucking margarita or a nice, hard dick and that's a damn shame," I spit before I think better of it. I scowl and lean back against a tree behind me before throwing my arm over my eyes to lament my predicament. This is all too much. If I haven't lost my mind yet, I'm on my way there for sure.

"I don't know what a margarita is," Goldie begins. "But perhaps I could help with the other."

I uncover my eyes and take in his perfectly relaxed stance. His eyes are on me, and somehow, they seem to flash in the dim forest light.

"What did you just say?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.