“What can I do?” I asked, watching Miz pull a coffee table closer to the armchair, sinking into it. I cast the thread of our bond out again, waiting, hoping I reached Tor, but like before, it was like reaching blindly into the dark, hoping to catch his hand.
“Stay close,” Miz said, batting a lock of pale hair out of his face. “Now the bonds are solidified, we might be able to share power.”
“Unless you want to shift into a jaguar, I might not be much help.” But I sat on the arm of his chair and watched him spread a map of the UK over the table. “Oh god—Virgil! He was with you in the domain…” The look in Death’s eyes made me cold all over. “What happened to him?”
“The fog swallowed the whole realm. He’s among the people lost,” he replied gently, a rush of care and calm brushing against my soul. “But not forever,” he hurried to say. “There’s a way to fix it, and we’ve already made progress towards it.”
“We have?” Madde asked, a furrow between his brows. He dropped the fireplace poker that had caught his eye and paid attention.
Death sighed, rubbing his face. His shoulders slumped, the weight of two worlds upon them. “The decay in the domain started with Nightmare’s manipulation. You’re our bride, Cat, which means you’re as linked to the realm as we are.”
My mouth opened, but I didn’t have a single thing to say. I was linked to the domain of the dead?
“The curse made you ours, but even after we broke it, that link remained. And when rifts appeared between us, when you were taken from us… the domain suffered. But you’re here, and when we’ve got Tor back, we’ll be whole. No more threats, no stress, nothing putting pressure on our relationship. We can restore the realm and free everyone from the fog. Including your brother. He’s not dead or hurt, just… swept away.”
My stomach knotted, but there was nothing in it to throw up. “When I went with Cruelty… I did that to the domain?”
“No,” Death said firmly, shaking his head.
“The domain’s stupid if it can be brought down by a lover’s tiff,” Madde said with a huff, wrapping himself around my back and scattering kisses over my head. “It’s not your fault, my lioness. You couldn’t know the realm would get its feelings hurt.”
That was such a Madde way of looking at it that a rusty laugh bubbled up in me. Guilt tangled in my chest, but I was already so full of doom and dread and anxiety that there wasn’t space for much else. “We can’t fix it without Tor,” I guessed, swallowing the lump from my throat. “Finding him is the priority.”
I hoped Virgil would forgive me for putting my husband first, but the acidic taste of guilt didn’t fade as Miz leaned over the map, Tor’s bracelet dangling from his fist as inky magic spilled from between his fingers.
“Oooooh.” Madde leaned over my shoulder to watch. “Spinny.”
He was right. The bracelet spun erratically over the map, and I got a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I glanced up when Pain came to stand beside me, reaching up to catch his hand in mine and surprised by the ease of the touch. I felt like I’d known him for months, that we’d met at the beginning, when I first came to Ford’s End. Maybe I’d been sensing him all this time.
“Do you want me to describe what’s happening?” I asked, running my thumb over the bandage of shadow on his finger. I frowned, inspecting it. What happened to his finger?
“I’ve got a clear enough impression from my shadows,” he replied, tightening his fingers around mine. “I just wanted to be close to you.”
“Smooth talker,” I accused him.
The brightest, most sunshine grin filled his face. “Why, thank you.” His smile fell when the bracelet and Miz’s tracking spell caught his attention. “Aw, Jesus.”
“It won’t pin to any location,” Miz groaned, a knot at his brow. “I’ve moved it over the whole map.”
“Could he be outside the UK?” I asked, straightening my spine, fully prepared to travel anywhere if it meant finding Tor. I’d go to Antarctica if that’s what it took to get him back. I had to grit my teeth as a wave of emotion crushed my throat, stung my eyes. I wanted Tor back. I wanted him safe. I wanted to throw my arms around him and never let go. “Do we have a bigger map?”
“Yes.” Death rushed from the room, tendrils of magic left in his wake. He returned, unfolding a huge map that was yellowedat the edges and looked as old as the house. Miz swept the old map off the coffee table, the new one so big it hung onto the floor.
I held my breath when Miz concentrated on the cities inked on the old paper, the roads and rivers and villages. Again, the bracelet spun, like it couldn’t find a single hint of Tor. Like he was no longer on the planet. Or no longer alive.
I clutched Pain’s hand like a lifeline, pressure crushing all the air from my chest.
“We’ll find him,” he promised, his voice low and steady. Full of belief. If he didn’t think Tor was gone, maybe there was hope. But I hadn’t been able to find him with the bond, and now Miz couldn’t track him to anywhere in the world. “We’ve tracked down plenty of people over the years, it’s just a matter of time before we find him.”
“Oh. Idea!” Madness raised his hand, palm out like he was about to swear an oath. “What if they’ve taken him somewhere off grid? Like a secret world. Or a hidden city. Oh my god, he’s in Atlantis.”
“He’s got a point,” Pain said with a shrug.
I gave him a dubious look. “I doubt Tor’s in Atlantis.”
“Not that.” He nudged me. “He might be in a realm we can’t search. Maybe one that has never been mapped.”
