Panic rises in my chest, my heart pounding faster than a caged bird’s frantic wings. The spell was meant to create a controlled telepathic link between me and the gods. They would tether my soul to Aradia’s in Mictlan, forming a connection I could use to pull her back.
“Let me try again?—”
A bright purple light spreads from the lake’s center, like ink bleeding through water.
Magnetized by the otherworldly beauty, I step into the frigid lake. “I think it worked?—”
“Get out,” Ravi shrieks. “That’s not Aradia. You’ve torn open a portal!”
“To the gods?” Hope stirs within me.
“Mictlan.” He blanches. “You called to the gods, but the dead answered instead.”
My blood turns to ice. A gateway to the realm of despair? I rush toward shore. My spell was meant to invoke the gods, not the ghosts. Usually, I have advisors, researchers, and Aradia herself to help me with urgent magical matters. But I’m at a total loss here. I studied how to call on the gods, not how to open—or close—portals to other dimensions.
“How do we close it?” I ask.
“I don’t know.”
This can’t be happening. After years of building stability, I might have put everyone and everything in jeopardy in just one night. The peace Wilder and I worked so hard to achieve—all of it is at risk because of my guilt.
“We should call for help,” Ravi says, offering his phone. “At least tell Wilder.”
“No.” The word slips out sharper than I intend. I can’t explain to anyone—especially Wilder—that I’ve been lying about this entire trip. The deception festers like acid in my stomach. He would lecture me about acting without thinking, and gods, he’d be right. I lied to his face, claiming this was a simple getaway from royal duties, while I was planning something this reckless, thisdangerous, so close to our wedding. We are so near to our happy ending, and we have earned it after everything we’ve been through. I refuse to take that from him.
Ravi frowns. “Fine. Don’t trust yourfiancé.” His words sting, because they’re unfair—this isn’t about trust. It’s aboutprotection. Protection from me and what I’ve done. “What about Jaxson?” he asks. “Or the Council? Someone should be here in case anything comes through.”
I shake my head. I can’t tell the Council that their supposedly stable queen just ripped open a portal to the realm of the dead. Their faith in me would disintegrate like a sandcastle in a storm.
The purple light in the lake pulses gently. Nothing has come through it yet. Maybe nothing will. If we can handle this ourselves, then why create unnecessary worry? The Council, Jax, and the Glaucus Blades would mobilize half the kingdom before we even understood what we’re facing. Wilder would insist on investigating the portal himself.
No, we have to fix this ourselves.
“We keep this between us,” I say, settling onto the muddy shore and pulling out my phone. “I bet there’s something online about closing portals, even if it’s indirectly related. I’m sure there’s a forum about magical spells gone wrong. Sit down and help me research.”
Minutes pass as we scroll through articles, most of which refuse to load because of our shitty reception in the mountains. Finally, two sites load clearly.
“Here,” I say, relief flooding my voice. “‘Interdimensional portals reflect the nature of the realm they connect to. The danger level depends solely on what world has been bridged.’” I look up triumphantly. “And this one says the same thing. ‘Portal stability and threat assessment are determined by the destination realm’s properties.’”
Ravi groans. “But, Leigh, I’m reading about other inhabitants of Mictlan here. It’s not just lost souls. There are mentions of Dullahan, harpies?—”
“Creatures of despair?” I wave him off, even as nausea rolls through me. But the point is not to panic, not until there is something tangible to panic about. “Mictlan isn’t Hell, Ravi. It’s limbo. That’s why it is nicknamedthe Nothing. The souls there are hopeless ghosts not dangerous daemons seeking destruction. Even if some escape, what’s the worst they could do? Make people sad?”
My attempt at calming the situation does nothing to smooth the crease between my distant cousin’s brows. “I don’t know. This mentions?—”
“Look,” I cut him off, standing on shaky legs and brushing mud from my jeans, “we’ll encase this entire lake in shadow magic. Keep it hidden from any passersby until morning, then figure out how to close it safely. No one gets hurt, no one panics.”
That goes for me, too.
Ravi grudgingly locks his phone screen. “You really think that’s enough?”
“We have to try.”
I raise my hands, a tingling spreading through my fingers as darkness responds to my call, flowing like liquid across the lake’s surface until the portal’s glow is fully covered. To anyone passing by, it will look like an ordinary mountain lake reflecting the night sky.
“There.” I back away, hoping I sound satisfied. “Problem contained. We’ll deal with it properly after some better research. My battery is low, anyway.”
As we walk up the dirt path toward the castle, I glance back, biting my bottom lip. The shadow veil stays perfectly in place; it will alert me if anything passes through it and conceal any sign of the purple light underneath. But I know the truth—a portal to another realm has been opened, and it’s only a matter of time before this secret is exposed.
