Chapter Twenty-Eight - Wilder
Light doesn’t penetrate this deep within the catacombs of Kosac’s castle.
Leigh breathes heavily behind me as we shuffle across the weathered stone floor, checking inside cells for Fynn.
A set of old-fashioned keys I found dangling from the wall when we first entered hangs from my hands, along with my mask.
No one is supervising the dungeon, which implies the cells are empty, but I refuse to leave any stone unturned.
In our world, the castle’s dungeons were converted into storage facilities.
But in Mictlan, they are still designed with heavy bars and bare cots to hold prisoners.
Except, none are here. If Fynn is being held in this dreadful castle, I pray it isn’t here.
The atmosphere is enough to give any child nightmares for the rest of their life.
“Fynn?” Leigh calls. No one responds.
“What about this one?” I ask, pointing to the only closed door in a long line of barred cells.
Leigh shrugs. “Is it some kind of office?”
“Guards quarters, if I had to guess, which usually has a prisoner log.”
Leigh nods. “Hurry. Kosac has probably realized I’m gone and has Henrietta looking for me.”
“Henrietta?”
“The female ghost dressed as a lady’s maid.”
Maybe it’s the same ghost who gave me my party clothes? If Kosac has her hunting Leigh, that would mean she’s not an ally. If that’s true, though, then why give me the clothes and the mask? It felt as if she wanted me to go to the party to find Leigh.
I reach for the handle; it groans like a drunkard as the hinges rub. We step inside the inky blackness.
I cough as Leigh swats spiderwebs away from her face.
“Another dead end?” Leigh asks, her voice small in the vast darkness.
I stay silent because I’m not entirely sure if it is yet. The room is small, with wooden beams and a tiny desk cluttered with dusty logbooks. Leigh has her hand resting on my lower back as she leans forward, eyes focused intently on an open booklet, its fragile pages yellowed with age.
“What’s this?” she asks.
Drawn by her focus, I lean forward. “The latest log.”
I read the old-fashioned names on the pages, starting with A and ending with Z. Aradia and Fynn are not names found on the list.
“Goddammit.” I shove the books off the desk and watch them clatter to the floor, dust billowing up in a cloud. Leigh stills. “Where is he. I’m starting to doubt he is even here because what the hell?”
Every second we spend searching for Fynn is another moment slipping away, bringing us closer to being trapped here forever.
I’m not leaving the boy, but I can’t help but think about how Leigh and I should be at home, waking up as joyful as can be on our wedding day.
It’s also another moment where the rift remains open, possibly allowing more nightmares to enter our realm.
If the number of daemons coming through cannot be controlled, the Blades and the Council won’t be able to keep the rift a secret for much longer. There’ll be widespread panic.
My chest tightens with each shallow gasp.
“Wilder, it’s okay,” Leigh reassures me. “Fynn isn’t down here, but that doesn’t mean we should give up.” She wraps her arms around me from behind, resting her cheek against my back. “We still have options.”
I squeeze my eyes closed. “You sound so sure.”
Leigh tightens her grip. “I am.”
We are out of our depth. Neither of us knows enough about this realm; the ghosts only answer to Kosac, who wanted Leigh to attend his party, but for what purpose? Why is he celebrating? And what does Leigh have to do with it? Nothing good.
“Leigh. Maybe we should come back—”
She releases me. “No.”
I frown at the loss of her comforting touch.
“Fynn isn’t staying here. He’s probably scared and confused. Besides, he has no one—no family waiting for him. He deserves to know he isn’t alone.”
Leigh’s shaking. She must be tired, yet she refuses to acknowledge her needs over others’. This lack of self-care will ultimately be her downfall; she works herself to the bone, ignoring the signs of exhaustion.
“We’ll come back,” I say again as I extend my hand to her. She looks at it with hesitation evident in every line of her body. I let out a sigh. “Please. You need to rest. We can regroup—”
“You’ll have them close the rift the second we step through it.”
I keep my hand outstretched. “We don’t belong here.”
“No, you don’t belong here.”
I drop my hand. “Back to that, are we?”
“You shouldn’t have chased after me, you—”
“What did you expect me to do, just sit around and wait for you to come back? When have I ever done that?”
She frowns. “You wouldn’t be sitting around if you were working with the Blades.”
“I don’t want to work with them,” I yell. Why won’t she accept that?
Her scowl deepens. “Liar.”
“Takes one to know one.”
Leigh’s jaw drops, and I instantly regret my retort. But then she smiles. “Are you ten?”
“No.”
“Could have fooled me.”
We both glare at each other, but after several tense breaths, we burst into laughter. Our brains no longer able to process our bleak reality. Leigh doubles over. The situation isn’t funny, but laughing is a better alternative than crying.
Mirthful tears stream down Leigh’s face. “We are so screwed.”
I laugh even harder in disbelief. “And we might get stuck here.”
We keep laughing as I reach for her. She presses her face against my chest. At least, if we get stuck in this terrible place, we’ll be together.
It’s not the life I imagined for us—no kids or summer vacations with our families—but at least we are still together.
Leigh takes a deep breath, and I finally manage to regain my composure, ignoring the feverish chills running through my body.
Like a parasite, this realm is already feeding on me, stealing my vitality moment by moment.
A heavy silence blankets us.
I run my hand down her back. My fingers get caught in curled tendrils of her hair.
She tenses. “Ow.”
“Sorry,” I murmur.
“Are you mad at me?” Leigh whispers.
Technically, I am furious, but that’s the last thing she wants to hear. What she’s done is foolish and reckless. But have I acted any differently? I chased after her into this unknown realm without backup or a full-fledged plan.
“Hey.” Leigh touches my cheek. I open my eyes. Hers are full of concern. “Are you okay?”
Sweat glues my shirt to my skin, but I’m not hot. I’m freezing.
“It’s this place,” I say. “It’s as if the very air is stealing my joy.”
“I know. I am a Lunar—”
“Shh.” Leigh frowns at how I cut her off. But I hear voices. “We aren’t alone.”
“Kosac?”
I race across the room to close the door. We don’t want him to catch us snooping.
I flip the lock and put my finger to my lips, silently warning Leigh to stay quiet. She nods and presses her ear against the door. I have the urge to pull her back, needing as much space as possible between her and Kosac.
“I don’t hear anything. Do you—”
I draw Leigh closer. He can’t take her if I don’t let her go.
“Quiet,” I whisper.
She nods, pupils expanded with fear.
We are now just centimeters apart. Her parted lips just inches from mine.
I’m scared, she tells me through our strange telepathy.
I know. I am scared, too.
“I don’t see anyone down here. Are you sure they came this way?” Comes Kosac’s chasm-like drawl.
“I’m sure,” replies a second voice. It sounds familiar.
“Keep moving,” Kosac demands. “This way.”
Their footsteps recede, likely heading deeper into the cells. Leigh reaches for the latch. I grab her hand. “Don’t.”
“We are wasting time down here.”
I shake my head. “They’ll be back. We have to be patient.”
Leigh groans. “I don’t like being confined to dark, enclosed spaces.” She peers up at me, her eyes steady with her lips slightly parted. Then she slowly and deliberately runs her tongue over her lips. My pulse quickens. She laughs.
“Stay quiet,” I murmur. “Not a sound.”
Leigh nods, but she’s already restless in my grip—a voltage racing through my fingers.
“Leigh,” I warn.
“Distract me.”
She rises onto her toes and her lips crash into mine, urgent and reckless in movement.
I kiss her back, hesitant, every nerve on edge.
Half of my brain is focused on the not-so-far-away ghost and its overlord, while the sensations of Leigh consume the other half—her fingers tangled in my shirt, her body pressed against mine.
She nips at my bottom lip, tugging gently, and I’m about to lose it.
My self-control is a bunker taking heavy fire.
The cracks are spreading under the relentless assault of her touch.
“Take off your pants,” she whispers against my mouth.
I freeze, just having hallucinated. What?
I’ll be quieter if you keep my mouth busy.
Heat spears through me. She rubs against the swelling in my pants, teasing me beyond reason. I know we shouldn’t, but her touch drowns out every warning. We could get caught, but I’m more focused on how her lips feel against my skin.
Slowly and deliberately, Leigh drops to her knees. Her eyes lock on mine.
She undoes my pants with nimble fingers. I should stop this. I have more willpower than this … but when it comes to Leigh, restraint has never been my strong suit.
Tell me this is a bad idea and I’ll stop, she says.
It’s a terrible idea, but don’t you dare.
Her laugh is low and breathless, sending a jolt straight to my groin.
I’m aching for her. She wets her lips, eyes wide and determined, a mix of fear of being caught and excitement.
Leigh’s breasts strain against her low-cut dress as she inhales deeply.
She knows exactly what she’s doing, and I am mesmerized by it.
Delicate fingers grip me, then slide up and down my shaft with maddening confidence.
I tell myself I can keep it together, that I can enjoy this and still listen for footsteps in the hall.
Her mouth ghosts over me, and I’m already close to losing it.
Heat boils low in my gut at the way she drags her tongue along the underside of me.
Her mouth closes around me. She hollows out her cheeks, and I bite back a moan.
Open your mouth wider, Leigh.
Obedient, she sinks back on her heels, looking up at me, lips parted, wide-eyed and sinful. She’s an angel and a menace.
My dick slides past her lips, and her nails dig into my hips, urging me forward. She takes me deep, silent except for the wet sounds and her barely-there moan as I brush the back of her throat. I give a shallow nod.
Take over, I urge, unable to speak otherwise.
Her hand grips tighter, her tongue swirling, messy, merciless.
I tilt my head back and squeeze my eyes shut. Fuck. It’s too much.
I want to beg her to slow down, but we don’t have the luxury of dragging this out. A moan slips free, and I curse myself under my breath. I’m shamelessly hers.
She takes me deeper, swallowing every inch of my self-control.
I thread my fingers through her hair. The silk strands slide over my knuckles, anchoring me. Beyond the door, I hear something. Are they back already?
“Hold still,” I say in a strained whisper. “No hands.”
With her hands folded neatly in her lap, Leigh’s eyes burn with mischief.
I thrust, slow at first, but then passion burns away caution, and I can’t help but thrust harder. Tears glisten on her cheeks, like splinters of crystal. I feel monstrous in this moment—raw, desperate—but Leigh doesn’t shy away. She never does.
My grip tightens in her hair. She blinks once, a signal. Do it.
I stifle a groan, and my every muscle locks as release slams through me. I empty myself down her throat, helpless to the bliss. She doesn’t spill an ounce of my cum, just licks her lips clean when I pull free, greedy for every last drop of me.
I sag against the door, spent. You have no idea how much power you have over me.
She smiles; it’s my whole universe, right there in the curve of her lips. I have an idea.
Leigh stands while I fumble to fix my clothes, both of us still trembling, wrapped in the high mix of danger and pleasure. Then she straightens. Her gaze shifts to the door, and her every muscle coils. The voices are right outside.
I force myself to listen.
“You owe me,” a woman says.
“Owe you?” Kosac drawls.
“Yes, we had a deal.”
“I recall that your side of the bargain only happens if you manage to get—” Kosac cuts off abruptly as if he was about to say something he shouldn’t.
A groan from the female ghost rumbles through the silence, prickling my skin with goose bumps.
“I told you everything,” she complains. “The longer we argue, the more likely she is to escape.”
Leigh goes rigid.
“Not without the boy. No one saw her leave the grounds.”
A wooden laugh comes from the female ghost. “You didn’t see her leave the party? I bet they’re already at the river. She’s figured it out, I’m telling you.”
“Then I suppose we need to go see.”