Wet and Wired Read Online Free

touching a live wire, but it rapidly turned from shock into something a lot warmer.
    She looked from their hands to his face and saw the same surprise in his expression. “Um, we should go.”
    He nodded. “Right. Of course.”
    Leda took a few steps and pulled him toward the steps. He eventually followed when she got close to pulling away from his grasp. He came after her to maintain the contact.
    They walked in silence for a few seconds before he quietly asked, “Do you feel that?”
    “The feeling that I just grabbed a live wire and now my beast magic is trying to crawl down my arm to investigate? Maybe.”
    Altion smiled. “Good. I thought it was just me.”
    She chuckled and kept going until they were in the beautifully designed lobby. The archway around the portal had gone from utilitarian to graceful and exotic. It looked amazing, the edges covered with stone vines.
    “Wow. The tower really went all out.” She smiled.
    “It is very impressive.”
    “It is. So, what do we need to do?”
    Altion smiled. “I will power up the coil and then walk through the portal. If you can wait two minutes and then follow me, that will be perfect.”
    She pulled her hand free of his, took out her phone and set a timer. “Ready when you are.”
    Altion looked at her hopefully. “A kiss for luck?”
    She smirked. “I thought you were a merman, not a leprechaun.”
    “It is always a good idea to keep luck on your side if it is an option.”
    Leda smiled and crooked her finger. “You come down here, and I will pass on what I can.”
    He bent his head, and she met him with a sweet kiss that exchanged the lightest touch of breath in a whisper of magic that passed in a spark.
    He smiled slowly. “A bit more chaste than what I was dreaming of, but it definitely made me feel lucky.”
    She blushed and waved at him. “Go on. Do your thing.”
    He walked to the doorway and held his hands out. He muttered in an ancient language that sounded like low gargling. The coil under the floor glowed, and a column of light filled the alcove.
    He straightened and softly said, “Two minutes.”
    She nodded and started her timer the moment that he stepped forward and disappeared.
     
    The chime warned her that it was her turn, so she turned off the alarm and stepped into the column of light.
    Energy crackled around her with the signature of water. It was both restful and enervating.
    She walked through the hall until she saw a familiar figure. “Um, Altion, I thought you were supposed to be on the other side of this portal by now.”
    He looked at her. “I was. The coil is off.”
    She sighed. “Where is it?”
    He pointed to a strange wavering disk in front of him.
    She sighed. “Easy fix.”
    She knelt and pressed her hands to the coil, asking the Meditation Centre to match the coil to the one at the Isthmus. Under her hands, it shifted, rotated and settled down with an audible click.
    The doorway appeared immediately.
    Altion sighed in relief. “After you.”
    She chuckled. “Okay. And after this, breakfast.”
    “My treat.”
    Leda stepped forward, walking through the doorway, and she stumbled into Tony’s arms. “Hey, Tony. What are you doing here?”
    “You have been missing for days. We have been watching both sides of the portal and hoping that things were fine.”
    Leda pushed at him and cleared the doorway a moment before Altion came through.
    The merman stumbled, and Leda released Tony and caught her companion. “I think we got jammed between dimensions for a while, but it should be fixed now.”
    Tony nodded and left them clinging to each other.
    “Apparently, we have been gone for a few days. Tony and Teal were concerned.”
    He rubbed his head. “I don’t know what happened. Everything lined up.”
    “You made the mistake of thinking that the Crossroads is a static space. The Centre and the Isthmus will keep the portal connected. I just had to ask them.”
    He frowned and leaned heavily against her. “How did you