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 didwhat? 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?”
