Chapter Twelve - Ravi
I sit on the beach, forcing my breath to steady after watching Leigh vanish into the black water. My gaze stays glued to the center of the lake, to the spot where she disappeared. Beneath my soaked clothes, chills race down my arms.
Dive in. Go after her, one of my ancestors’ ghosts urges.
The only thing keeping me rooted to this muddy shore is the promise I made—to find the spell to close the rift. I have until daybreak before I risk alerting the Blades.
She’s been gone five minutes. Five fucking minutes in the realm of the dead.
I push to my feet. My limbs are leaden with dread. If anyone finds out I let the queen enter Mictlan alone, there’ll be hell to pay. My sister Sama and I—still outsiders here, no matter how welcome we’ve been treated—would become perfect scapegoats.
Cynthia and Jorina might call us family, but grief can turn people cruel. Wilder won’t hesitate to arrest me and lay the blame at my feet if something happens to his fiancée.
Find the spell. Bring her home. Run if necessary.
Inside the castle, pre-wedding celebrations rage on as I head back to the library. The guests laugh and toast, unaware that a child has been stolen by a Dullahan, oblivious to the fact that their queen is inside a death realm. The joy in the air feels obscene, almost grotesque.
“I swear, the lack of propriety associated with the monarchy these days is inconceivable,” a sharp voice complains around the corner ahead.
I slow my steps; something in that tone makes my skin crawl.
“Nebula and Epsilon cohabitating as if they were equals—it’s disgusting!”
Felicity. I peek around the corner and my stomach drops. Leigh’s cousin stands in a dress that looks like a cake, surrounded by several men, her aura green with jealousy.
“I understand my cousin’s desire for peace, but it simply isn’t right.
She shouldn’t be allowed to make the rules.
Not when she’s a no-good Lunar Witch.” My heart stops.
“I promise you, if I were queen, we’d have order, not this circus.
Can you imagine? Any children Leigh has will be part Nebula!
If my father were alive, he’d be sickened. ”
“Are you sure you’re next in line?” one lackey asks.
Felicity’s glare could freeze molten magma.
“Are you referring to Ravi and Sama?” The disgust in how she spits our names sends ice through my veins.
“Easily disposable. They’d be the first to go if I were queen.
They may not be ahead of me in succession, but they come after me, which makes them a threat. ”
She disappears around another corner, but I can’t move. My heart slams against my ribs. If something happens to Leigh tonight, Felicity inherits the throne.
My hands tremble as I check my watch. Twenty minutes. Still too early to call the Blades. I promised Leigh I would wait.
But Wilder isn’t a Blade anymore.
Fear drives me toward the west wing. Leigh will be furious that I involved Wilder. She doesn’t want to cause him unnecessary worry. I’m already worried myself, but I won’t let anything happen to her, either. Not with Felicity watching, already plotting to get rid of both of us.
Easily disposable. Her words haunt my thoughts as I break into a run.
Leigh needs to understand what awaits her if she doesn’t make it back alive. Wilder will bring her back safely. We should have told him about the rift on Samhain. As capable as Leigh is, she’s not a trained fighter. Wilder won’t let her fail.
Several moments later, I find myself outside Wilder’s door. Gods, he’ll be livid. But Leigh could be in danger right now. I try the handle and quickly find it unlocked.
Inside, his room is perfectly organized.
His suitcase is empty, with clothes hung in the wardrobe with military precision.
Not like me—my suitcase sits beside my bed, always packed, ready to run.
I have spent my whole life as a Lunar Witch, moving from place to place, never safe.
If I fail Leigh, I’ll die trying to outrun a past I never truly escaped.
I open my mouth to call out for Wilder, but his deep voice interrupts the quiet, thick with sleep. “I left the door unlocked for you.”
“It’s Ravi. I need your help.”
The bedside lamp switches on. I squint against the sudden brightness.
Wilder sits up in bed with a frown. His tattooed chest is on display. “Ravi?” He rubs his eyes. “I thought you were Leigh.”
“Leigh’s in trouble.” No use sugarcoating it.
Alarm flashes in his eyes. “In trouble, how?”
I hesitate. “It’s hard to say.”
Wilder throws back the sheets and jumps out of bed, moving quickly toward the door. I look away. Thank the gods he’s not naked. I’ve had enough shock for tonight.
“Where is she?” he growls, his voice edged with danger.
He reaches for the handle.
“Get changed; I’ll explain on the way.” I block his path from leaving. “And dress warmly.”
He looks ready to shove me aside, but Leigh isn’t in the castle. He’ll never find her without me. With a furious exhale, he turns toward a patinaed dresser, yanks open a drawer, and pulls out a long-sleeved shirt, dragging it over his head. “Explain now.”
Don’t tell him.
He’ll blame you.
You should leave now.
I push the ghosts’ voices aside, though my knees tremble. “Leigh went through the rift. She’s in Mictlan.”
Wilder freezes, his jacket halfway on. “She did what? And wait, how the hell do you know about the rift?”
I swallow the lump in my throat. Maybe I should have gone straight to the library, but Felicity …
“Leigh told me, right before going through it—after that missing boy.” I keep the part about being there when Leigh opened the portal to myself, for now. I need him to help Leigh, not abandon her for lying. “Come now, and I’ll show you where it is.”
Wilder drags his hands through his hair, nearly yanking strands out. “The Blades were handling it. Why couldn’t she accept that and stay safe? When did she go in?” he snaps.
My guilt intensifies into defensiveness. “Since you retired, maybe Leigh hasn’t had the same faith in them. Not without you around.” I am twisting the story to fit my needs, but we shouldn’t waste time arguing about this. Leigh needs help.
He frowns, eyes stormy. “So it’s my fault for wanting to put her first? She takes matters into her own hands because of that?”
“Jaxson’s team has been searching for months. No luck finding the rift,” I counter, voice tense. It’s not their fault; they can’t see past Leigh’s shadows. Only a Lunar Witch can. Still, we need to go.
“Yet Leigh finds it in one night?” His words are thick with suspicion, his aura darkening to deep blue.
“We really need to get moving,” I urge. “Leigh needs you.”
For a split second, raw terror flickers across his face before his expression hardens.
“She better be unharmed when I find her or else it’s your fucking head.
I don’t care if you are family. You could have stopped this.
” He disappears into the closet and returns a few moments later wearing black boots and holding his cell phone.
“Take me to the gate.”
I nod and follow him into the hallway. Wilder’s long strides make me half jog just to keep up as we rush out of the castle. His jaw clenches, but he says nothing.
“I should lead; you don’t know where you’re going,” I offer.
“Then do it.”
I bite down hard to swallow my retort. He’s being a jerk because he’s scared for Leigh. So am I. Every minute she spends alone in that realm is another minute she might not come back. We never should have kept the rift a secret. I never should have let her go inside alone.
“Ravi,” Wilder says, stepping outside, “how did Leigh know where to find the rift?”
I hesitate. If I tell him the truth now, will he leave Leigh behind? If I lie, he might give up searching altogether. My future—and Sama’s—depends on him finding Leigh and bringing her back safely.
I tell him the truth. As I talk, his breath quickens, each inhale edged with fury.
“Five months?” he explodes, nostrils flaring. “You’ve both known about this for nearly five fucking months. Is this—” He exhales through clenched teeth. “Is this why she wanted to move the wedding here at the last minute?”
I hold my tongue, which says a lot.
“Fucking hell, Ravi,” he mutters, glaring at the trees. “What else has she kept secret?”
I still don’t respond. His questions aren’t for me.
“This way.” I direct us down a winding path through the Thistle Maze.