Mikaela nodded and began to weave a portal.
“What are Highland winters like?” Connor asked ruefully. “Balmy?”
“Don’t worry, Connor.” Sabine patted him on the shoulder. “We’ll just find you a sheep to cuddle up with. I hear they have lots of them in Scotland.”
Connor made a sour face. “When we find Adne, I’m going to tell her you said that.”
“Good for you.” Sabine laughed.
As a snow-covered landscape came into focus amid the shimmering threads of Mikaela’s weaving, Connor leaned over to Ethan.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m gonna get a kilt,” Connor said. “I mean, hey, it’s Scotland.”
Ethan just smiled and shook his head, but Shiloh asked, “A kilt?”
“I’ve got great legs,” Connor said solemnly.
Shiloh looked to Ethan for a reprieve. “Is he always like this?”
“Yep,” Ethan said.
“Of course I am.” Connor grinned. “I’m a goddamn champion.”
“You’re a what?” Sabine asked.
“Close encounter,” Connor replied. “You wouldn’t understand.”
The portal now offered a clear view of a hillside with the glittering lights of a village at the base of the slope.
Tess hugged Anika. “Good luck.”
“You too,” Anika said. “Don’t contact us unless you have to. I don’t want Holt to come after you. I’ll try to keep him too focused on the problems here to even think about interfering with your mission.”
“So we’re on our own,” Sabine said, glancing at Ethan.
“No,” Anika answered. “You’ll have an original descendant of the Harbinger to help you find your way.”
“What?” Tristan stared at Anika. “I’m not leaving. Not with Sarah imprisoned and Holt running the show.”
“Sarah is my best friend. You know I’ll do everything I can to help her,” Anika told him. “It’s my task to face Holt and take him down. You’re the only one who actually knows Bosque. You’ll see things, put pieces together that the others can’t. You need to go with them.”
“She’s right, Tristan. I may be the Guide, but we need you to show us the way,” Tess said. “Anika will deal with Holt. We’ll stop Logan.”
Tristan’s face was drawn, but he nodded.
“She makes it sound so simple,” Connor said wistfully.
“Get going.” Ethan shoved Connor toward the portal. “Your kilt awaits you.”
Connor’s skin prickled as he stepped through the light-filled doorway, leaving Haldis Tactical behind. Though he’d been a Striker for years, Connor felt as though he were heading into the field for the first time. A mission without the backing of the Academy and its Searchers made this a new beginning for all of them.
She needs a champion.
That label still made Connor uneasy. It wasn’t a word he’d use to describe himself except in jest. But if that was who he needed to become for Adne’s sake, then that was who he would be. The thought gave him a bit of comfort. He might only be at the beginning, but a champion could see the battle through to the end.