Anticipation sings through my veins. I grab for the latch again.
Wilder shakes his head. “We’re not going anywhere with a half-cocked plan.”
I can’t help but smirk. “I don’t recall anything ever being half-cocked between us.”
He frowns, gravely. “I’m serious, Leigh. Let’s think this through for a second. Why would Kosac have Fynn at the river?”
I groan, the need to act burning inside me like a fever. Wilder is too suspicious. Kosac didn’t know we were down here, and he let it slip that Fynn would be at the river. His mistake is our gain. “Wilder, I want to go home. I want to bring Fynn back safely, put on my dream dress, and marry you in front of everyone. Today has been a nightmare, but it’s almost over.” I’m desperate toget him on my side. We are debating the wrong things. “Please, don’t fight me on this.”
It doesn’t matter why Kosac has Fynn at the river. What matters is that Fynn is there.
“I want that, too, but we also need to take precautions. What are we going to find when we get there? Will Kosac have Fynn alone, or will the Dullahan be with them?”
The words nearly undo me, but I force myself to stay focused. “There’s no time to overthink. We can hatch a plan on the way.”
He still doesn’t budge. I meet his gaze; the green of his eyes looks duller. So does his skin.
“Are you feeling okay?” I ask.
Wilder wipes the light sheen of sweat from his brow as if this conversation were exhausting him. He’s fading, and fast. Wilder can’t stay in Mictlan much longer. “I’m fine.”
“We should go. Please, trust me.”
“I’m trying,” he says, voice rough.
I push the door open. If Fynn isn’t at the river, I’ll have to convince Wilder that he can’t stay. I pray to whatever gods can hear me that Fynn is there because Wilder needs to go home. It’s for his own good. But if Fynn isn’t there, I know he’ll still refuse to leave without me, which means I will have to force him to go or watch him die.
Wilder and Iwalk along the crumbling cobblestone path that leads from the castle down to the river. The Acheron flows through Glaucus like blood pumping through an artery, but it lies silent, no rushing water, just a smooth surface glimmering beneath the peculiar half-light of Mictlan’s sky.
I don’t see Kosac or Henrietta anywhere, but the castle’s impending presence presses against my back.
Wilder trails behind me, moving slower than usual along the river’s edge. He keeps his eyes fixed on the trees lining the opposite side of the path.
“Leigh, wait,” Wilder calls after me, several paces behind. “He’s not here, and even if he were, I doubt Kosac would just hand him over. You said you’d convince him, but that doesn’t sit right with me. He could demand anything from you, and you’d just agree willingly?”
I frantically glance left and right. Fynn has to be here… Kosac made it sound like he was. If I’m wrong, I don’t know what to do. Should I go back to the castle? Wait around for Kosac to appear? We are running out of time. Wilder is out of time.
He looks ghostly. Each breath takes an effort.
I’m close to solving this mystery and can stay here a little longer. But Wilder needs to leave. It’s for his own good, and I’ll do anything—say anything—to save his life.
He is in danger, and I refuse to watch him die.
I turn to face Wilder just as he jogs up to me. Our breath fogs in the cool air. Sweat beads on his temples despite the chill. My heart pounds. I’m prepared to fight to get him to see reason and go back home.
“Fynn isn’t here, and we are running out of time before Ravi closes the portal. You should go back, tell him to wait a little longer. Hold off any daemons so that it is safe for Fynn and me to come through,” I say, letting determination ooze into my voice.
“Leave now?” Wilder asks.
I nod. “I’ll be right behind you.”
“Leigh, stop,” he says. “For the thousandth time, I’m not leaving you here. What if something happens to both of you? We either go home together, or we don’t go at all. End of story.”
I frown. When it’s time to leave, he might not have enough strength to get home. “You don’t have any faith in me, do you?”
“Kosac is messing with you. Can’t you see that? First the party, and now this? If Fynn were here, we would have already found him. I know this realm doesn’t affect you the way it does me, but Leigh, I know you can feel that something is very, very wrong here.”
Yeah, I understand, but that’s my burden to carry, not his.
