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The little boy in the room screams, and I wince.
“Keep your hands off him, Seamus!” The woman cries.
There’s a loud thump, and she yelps.
Rainer flinches at the sound.
“You’re awfully convinced that I would violate your privacy and lie about it.” His eyes meet mine, unwavering. “Which is curious considering I’ve been nothing but kind to you.”
“Kind? You think you’ve been kind to me?”
His brows scrunch. “In more ways than you’ll know.”
The family’s voices fade, and the otherwise bright space begins to dim. My body grows heavy, weighed down. Trying to take a step feels like I’m moving in slow motion.
“You admitted you were in my dreams,” I say, but my voice is warbled. “You never denied it.”
“You misunderstood. I never said I was in your dream.” His icy blue eyes peer into mine, with a hint of challenge. “But you, mo róisín, are in mine. Again.”
“Wait, what?”
“I recommend staying close.”
Screams burst free of the room where the family sits. I move in slow-motion—trying to get a view of what’s happening.
I beg my feet to move quicker, but Rainer’s hand snakes out, reaching for my own. He shakes his head.
“Don’t.” His eyes plead with mine, his mouth in a tight line.
Whatever is happening in that room, he doesn’t want me to see it. Disobeying his wishes would be entirely hypocritical, considering I thought he was violating me by being in my dreams initially.
Hesitantly, I reach out and accept his hand. We interlace fingers and run down the hall, away from the room filled with desperate screams.
“We have to move,” he says, tugging me along.
I swallow the lump in my throat.
The screams get louder and a metallic scent reaches my nose.
“What’s happening?” I whisper.
Rainer’s color drains from his face, he looks as if he might be sick.
After a few more yards, he slows until he stops moving entirely, frozen in the hall with a pained expression.
“Come on, you said we have to keep moving.” I tug his hand, but he stays still as stone.
I’m not sure why we have to keep moving, if it’s just a dream nothing can harm us, right? Just the fact that I’m questioning the possibility is enough to make me lose confidence, and either way, based on Rainer’s reaction, I don’t think staying here is a good idea.
But it feels like my feet have turned to stone. I try to walk but I can’t.
The hallway gets darker and darker, then the screaming stops, leaving us in silence.
A thumping noise comes from the room we left behind.
The scrape of something heavy dragging across the hardwood floors reaches my ears, sending a chill across my skin.
“Hold your breath, Alessia,” Rainer whispers.
