After having exchanged their goodbyes with the friendly landlady, the group of travellers walked out of the Bed and Breakfast led by Peregrine.

He seemed to be the only one of the trio of Silmareans who had some understanding of her world, Fiona noticed again as the rest of them strolled in his wake across the quiet road entirely free of traffic, Leodhais, the perfect gentleman, with Alexandra on his arm, Fiona, holding Freddie's hand with Gilderoy on her other side, Gollum trotting obediently next to him.

They embarked upon the small, empty bus, dispersing around the vehicle. Fiona sat next to Freddie who couldn't stop talking about their adventure, while her eyes remained trained on Peregrine who suddenly couldn't seem to find peace, his eyes intent upon the world outside through the not perfectly clean glass. Did he feel something? Did he perceive danger? Fiona mused. Would he tell her what was troubling him if she asked?

But she didn't get an occasion to speak to him before the bus stopped in the next village and they got off, outside of a small supermarket. Despite the unexpectedly good weather after the great storm of the previous night, they seemed to be the only tourists directing their steps towards The Hurlers, the age-old stone circles scattered across Bodmin Moor.

Or the other visitors simply knew better and waited for the soil to dry up, Fiona concluded when she stepped off the well treaded path leading from the village into the wilderness to leave more space for Freddie and her foot disappeared ankle deep in a cool, sticky mud.

Peregrine was at her side in a blink of an eye, sending Freddie on in Gilderoy's care while he helped her back onto the path.

"I need you to be careful, Bella," he muttered, pulling her flush against him, using the fact that they were at the end of the group now and no one was looking at them to their advantage. "It will be worse on the other side. This moorland is a swamp in Draconia. And it's large, there are no towns or villages between The Stones and The Gate."

Fiona nodded, her heart pounding too fast for her to respond immediately. And it wasn't because of fear brought on by his words, but rather his closeness, his arm wrapped so tightly around her waist from behind that he was almost carrying her.

"Is The Gate a pub, or an inn?" she guessed when she trusted her voice finally, guided by her knowledge of fantasy novels.

"Yes. It belongs to my adoptive family. Annwyn runs it since our father died."

Fiona simply nodded in reply. The others were starting to turn around to consult Peregrine upon approaching the stone circles.

The dragon shifter looked behind and around carefully, his arm never leaving Fiona just like hers never strayed from its position on his hips, the simple action reminding her of his careful watchfulness she noticed from the moment they left the Bed and Breakfast.

She opened her mouth to ask what he feared, but he spoke to Gilderoy before she could organise her thoughts into words.

"Just like before, we need to walk in the middle of the innermost circle. Go."

Freddie slowed down and waited for them a few steps ahead to catch up.

"Is it so simple? We just walk into the centre and cross into your world, Peregrine?" he asked, his face tilted up, his enormous blue eyes drinking the dragon shifter in.

Peregrine pulled the hood of  the Freddie's jacket up as if he was expecting the bright sunshine turning into rain any minute now, then took him by the hand. The boy complied with everything coming from the dragon shifter most naturally before the man finally replied.

"What you are trying to tell me is that it can't be true, right? That if it worked that way, then every single visitor of these stone circles would be in danger of falling through and ending in Silmarea."

Freddie nodded vigorously, making both Peregrine and Fiona smile.

"There's more to it," the dragon shifter said, lowering his voice into a conspiratorial whisper as they walked through the innermost circle, Fiona reaching out to the closest grey stone streaked with golden-brown veins. She pressed her hand for the shortest moment to the rock. It was as old as the world and strangely warm. When she closed her eyes, she could almost sense... how it buzzed and oscillated with ancient magic.

"Only those who have some connection to our world can cross," Peregrine added.

"What about Gollum?" Fiona and Freddie asked at the same time even as they reached the dog, now held securely by the collar by Gilderoy, and the rest of their group already standing in the middle of the slightly elliptical ring of stones, surrounded by other, larger circles, scattered like ripples on the surface of a lake across the vast moor.

"You both love him, and you both belong to Silmarea," Peregrine said, strengthening his hold around Fiona's waist and Freddie's hand unconsciously, "that's the best connection he can have. Now get ready, it will only take a moment..."

The moorland liquefied under their feet and they found themselves on the other side of the portal even before he finished his sentence, before Fiona could say a mental goodbye to her world, the only world she had known until the moment when her feet landed in a deep puddle drowning what look like the only patch of safe, grassy ground, a small island in the middle of a see of mud, surrounded by stone circles that seemed to stand erect by pure magic, their unsinkability defying all logic.

They all drew together in the pouring rain, trying to escape the thick, cloud-like fog hovering on the margins of the closest stone circle as if an invisible barrier prevented it from entering.

Fiona could feel how Peregrine breathed freely for the first time that morning, his body expanding under her arms with his deep intake of air, and she inhaled deeply, too. The air around them smelled of the omnipresent swamp, of the fog that seemed to carry a scent of the sea in it, of the incessant rain and invisible pine trees. Despite all of it being alien to Fiona, it made her feel happy. The scent flaring up her nostrils carried a feeling of belonging she had never felt to her mind and heart. She was at home.

She laid her head on Peregrine's chest for a fleeting moment, overcome by elation and a myriad of other emotions, and he, removing his arm from around her waist caressed her hair before she, sensing the others' eyes on them took a step away and accepted his extended hand, just like Freddie.

"We'll have to tread carefully." Peregrine addressed the group adjusting the various pieces of luggage on their backs and shoulders, Gilderoy accepting the leash from Fiona so he could keep Gollum safe more comfortably. "The sooner we cross the swamp, the better, of course, but do not risk anything. Let's take all the time we need to walk across safely. Just follow me carefully."

Follow they did. In silence, walking in twos and threes in some places, in single line in others, the pouring rain becoming the least of their problems as they trudged through spots where they couldn't see each other because of the impenetrable fog.

Hours passed before a ribbon of a path became discernible in the mud under their feet, gradually widening into a lane fringed by tall grasses, then a road lined by tall pine trees, even as dusk started to fall, and they finally glimpsed a few lit windows of a large building at the road's end.

A surge of energy seemed to revive Leodhais, who made his way to the head of the group at the sight.

"I suppose that's The Gate," Fiona muttered, unable to suppress a giggle at the sight of the elf marching well ahead of them towards the flickering lights, making Gilderoy chuckle and Peregrine sigh.