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Nothing like that happened. Estella was watching her nephew with curiosity and a little horror. I couldn’t imagine what she was thinking. This was her sister’s child. He’d obviously been abused his whole life, made to comply with his mother’s influence. There’s no telling how much he suffered over the years.
Taking all of that into account, I doubted that any of us knew the real Ledger. If there was anything left of him.
My arm started to tingle with a slight burning sensation. I sucked in a quick breath, not expecting the sudden feeling.
Rylan whirled around, his steely green eyes searching for danger while I lifted my arm and stared at it. The filigree-like markings pulsed slightly with silvery-white light. I touched my wrist, expecting to feel something, but it didn’t feel any different.
“What’s going on?” He caressed my skin, which increased the burning sensation.
Hissing at the pain, I jerked away. The intense burning stopped when he was no longer in contact.
This is weird.
I’d always associated tingles with Rylan or people I could trust. The burning now at my mate’s touch was terrifying. What did it mean? There was no way that he had done something to make me question my trust in him. So, the tingling and burning must mean something else.
But what?
Estella watched my markings pulsate; her blue eyes full of wonder.
“Your arm reminds me of something,” she said, biting her lip as she considered.
“It does?”
“Yeah.” She reached out to brush her fingers along my skin. The markings rippled up and down at the point of contact. I didn’t feel anything unusual, but the more I looked at it, the more I got the same feeling.
I’ve seen this before.
Like a lightbulb turning on, Estella and I gasped at the same time, our eyes meeting as we both remembered what my markings reminded us of.
“The pool,” we said at the same time.
I gripped my wrist, but the markings didn’t move like they had for Estella. I held it out, nodding my encouragement for her to try once more. Again, the markings rippled and pulsed with light. The same sort of light that had blinded me when I was in the Between.
“What pool?” Deacon and Rylan asked at the same time, their voices equally growly.
“There was a pool in the Between,” I explained, looking from my arm to Estella, an idea forming. “We met in the pool.”
“It always reminded me of liquid moonlight,” Estella said softly, appearing dazed.
“I think I know what’s wrong with Ledger.” I turned back to the corner, where he was slumped. “He’s trapped and needs help finding his way out.”
“He’s trapped in the Between?” Rylan ran a hand through his hair. “Can I guide him back like I did for you?”
It was a valid question, but we didn’t even know for sure if he was in the Between to begin with. Was there a way to access that place since I’d already been there? The thought of returning made my heart skip a beat and my stomach twist. The Between wasn’t a place I ever thought I would revisit, but if Ledger was there, he’d need someone to guide him back like Rylan had done with me.
“I need to go back,” I murmured, the words sending a shiver down my spine.
“What? How?”
“All good questions.” I wracked my brain for answers.
Was it possible to go back to the place where I was neither dead nor alive? Did I have to die again in order to go there? That thought made my stomach churn. Dying the first time was bad enough; I wasn’t eager to repeat the experience.
“I was willing to do just about anything to save my cousin, but now I’m not so sure,” Rylan said honestly.
“I don’t think I have to die again.” I was going for reassurance, but my words just seemed to anger him more. Grey eyes turned green in an instant, and I could feel that he was moments away from grabbing me and dragging me out of here. His cousin be damned.
That wasn’t right though. I knew that Rylan would choose me over his cousin in a heartbeat, but this wasn’t just his cousin anymore. Ledger was part of the pack that we had created.
