Page 79 of The Reaping Rose

“Hey, she won’t be unguarded.” Perame places her hands on her hips.

“That’s not what I mean.” Wilder scratches the back of his neck. “What if you get stuck on that side? What if something goes wrong, and you can’t get back?”

“What if you’re right, and you’re stuck there with us?” I challenge. “You have a kingdom counting on you. Your people need you here.”

“Well, I need you.” His tone is unwavering.

I step closer, pressing my body to his. “Then make sure I don’t get lost. If something goes wrong, find me. Only you will be able to. You can’t go with me, Wilder. For all the reasons we talked about earlier. You need to be here for your realm.”

“I’ll go,” Callum offers, lifting off the table. “Perame can focus on finding the void, and I’ll make sure we have a way back.”

“You realize if you get stuck over there, there’s not enough magic in the Mortal Realm to sustain your hearts. You’ll suffer the Beating. Sooner than you’d like, given how many months you were just on Alyssium.” Atlas’s jaw ticks.

“We won’t get stuck.”

“I still think I should go.” Atlas turns to Wilder. “You can spare me if you’re here.”

Wilder shakes his head. “I need you for something else. Finding the void only solves half our problem. The scouts have been unsuccessful in locating Malachi, and they can’t get close enough without being discovered. We need information.”

“You want me to go back to Lyrichia?” Atlas’s eyebrow hitches, and Wilder nods.

“Your magic will let you get closer than the spies have been able to.”

Atlas is a fire wielder capable of burning memories from minds. He’s strong enough that he hid in the Ley Court for weeks, around the strongest magic there is. It makes sense that if anyone can go unnoticed searching Lyrichia for Malachi, it would be him.

“We don’t know how long our realm will be able to stand the void being brought here, which means we need to nullify the orb the second we have it. We can’t risk waiting until Elorie gets back to find Malachi. We need to be ready as soon as she returns.”

Wilder doesn’t look at me, but I feel the tug of his words. The resistance to the idea of me leaving him again. I understand when I feel the same. But while the thought of being away from my mate tears me to pieces, we won’t have a realm if I don’t do this. We can’t let everyone else perish because we’re too selfish to let each other go.

This fight isn’t about me and him. It’s for the people who suffer while we sit in the heart of the lushest forest, surrounded by magic. What I wouldn’t give to share this blessing with those like Millicent and Lune.

We fight for them, not us.

“Your thoughts are much more reasonable than mine.” Wilder’s smirk is felt through the thread.

“And what are your thoughts?”

“That I’d see it all undone for you.”

I look up at him. “Then don’t lose me over there.”

He reaches for my hand, squeezing. In hope. In promise. Wilder will find me no matter what happens. I trust him.

“You realize this brings up another issue?” Rior taps the pommel of his sword with his thumb. “How do we expect to wield something that pacifies all magic? Even if you find the void, how can you expect to carry an object like that through a magical Archway? What if you get stuck between?”

“Is that possible?” I ask.

“We didn’t think so until the Well started draining magic from the realm. Some stepped through an Arch on one side and never made it out the other,” Wilder answers.

“Where are they now?”

He shakes his head, dragging his hair off his forehead. “We don’t know.”

I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. Doubt sits like a weight on my shoulders, pressing heavier by the moment. The risks heighten with every turn of this conversation, but nothing changes the facts. Without the void, we won’t survive another few turns of the moon; we have to try.

“When we were in the Ley Court, Callum was able to touch Hazel without her magic affecting him. Something about his magic made him immune to hers. The void might not be shadow magic, but if anyone is able to withstand something that mutes magic, it might be someone who can withstand magic that drains.”

Callum’s eyebrows pinch. “I suppose it’s possible.”