Page 107 of Discovered Magic
Next, he offered Draven his hand. “My advice? Find the Duval girl. If they are trying to keep you away from her, it’s for a nefarious reason. Don’t let them.”
“Go in peace, Traveler.”
To Jonas, Castor said, “Thank you for your kindness to my daughter. Please extend my gratitude to the others, including Shadow.”
“Of course.”
Finally, he approached Wilder and hauled him into his embrace. “Thanks for loving my daughter, son. If Abbie returns, my spell will bring you both home. Should I find her on the other side, I promise I’ll be back for you.”
“Hurry. We both know how unstable that thing can be.”
They shook hands, but nothing more needed to be said. Castor pivoted and ran full speed into the swirling blue opening. The portal to Goddess-only-knew-where closed behind him with a snap.
“And then there was one,” Wilder murmured. “The non-Traveler lost in time.”
“Not lost,” Damian said. “You have family here, Thorne.”
A crackling zipped through his brain an instant before the buzzing began, sounding remarkably like a Hamm radio.
“Wilder?”
His knees went weak.
“Abbie? Where are you?” Wilder called out, both aloud and through their link.
The others grew still.
“The Hastings’ hideout, where the cabin once was.”
33
They arrived in a blink.
Abbie’s whole face lit when she spotted Wilder, and the instant her arms encircled his neck, a sense of homecoming enveloped him.
“Abbie,” he breathed. His throat clogged, and words failed him.
“Oh my god, Wilder!”
He drew back and cupped her face. Tenderly brushing the hair from her forehead, he asked, “How are you here? Did you pass your test?”
“What test?”
“I’ll take that as a no.” He spotted Royal hanging back. “Hey, man. Where’s Silas and Morcant?”
A pained look crossed his expression. “Silas didn’t make the jump.”
“Christ, I’m sorry.” And Wilder was. He couldn’t imagine losing a brother during this insanity.
“Truth is, I feared we’d meet our end with a bullet or noose, so it’s much better for him to be reunited with his wife as he was,” Royal replied matter-of-factly.
“Still hurts.”
“Yeah. It does.”
Abbie buried her face in the crook of Wilder’s neck, and he rubbed his cheek against her soft hair. Peace, the first since their parting, settled over him. It didn’t matter if they never made it home, as long as he was with her, the world could go to hell.
“Morcant?” Damian asked. “You never said.”
