Page 10 of Realm of Dreams & Shadows

Kali inclined her head, the silver ties that bound her midnight-black hair glinting in the dim light. “All is ready, my king.”

“Good.” He stood, then took one last look into the scrying pool, the water now black and quiet. But it had told him enough. He knew her now. Soon, she would know him too.

In one smooth motion, he turned his back to the pool, the shadows of his long coat billowing as he strode toward the cave’s mouth. “Send the mares.”

Chapter

Five

Uncle Finn’s house is exactly what you’d expect from a lifelong academic—bookshelves lining every wall, stacks of papers covering most every surface, and an eclectic collection of archeological whatsits stuck in whatever space remained.

“Sorry about the mess,” he says, as if this is an unusual state of affairs. He clears a pile of magazines from a chair, then gestures for me to sit as he steps to the wet bar. “I keep meaning to organize, but, well, you know.” He shrugs, glancing helplessly over the chaos around us.

“Your place is perfect,” I say as I snuggle into the worn leather armchair. “Very you.”

I pull the daisy from behind my ear and hold it up. “Thanks for these.”

He smiles, grabbing a highball glass and filling it with water. “Every girl deserves flowers on her first day of college. And I know daisies are your favorite.”

I set the daisy in the glass and put it on the coffee table. “There. Perfect.”

Uncle Finn smiles, the corners of his eyes crinkling in a way that reminds me of my mother. But that smile is the only trait they’d shared. Where she’d been artistic and driven, Finn is a grounded academic with a weakness for Sci-Fi movies.

“How are you settling in?” he asks, pouring two glasses of red wine and handing one to me. At my raised eyebrow, he adds, “You’re nineteen on a college campus. If I don’t introduce you to moderate, responsible alcohol consumption, who will?”

We share a smile before I take a sip. I’ve had wine before, but nothing that had an actual cork. Or cost more than twelve dollars. This wine, with its nice, rich flavor, is a treat.

I hold the glass up in approval as I give him my update. “I’m settling in fine. My roommate is great. Nice and fun and a little⁠—”

“Eccentric?”

“You got that right.” I frown. “You know her?”

“Only on paper. From what I saw, Tia has a unique perspective on the world. I thought you two would balance each other well.”

“You picked my roommate?” I hear the irritation in my voice and try to tamp it down. “I don’t think that’s on the Official List of Approved Dean Responsibilities.”

“Oh, it is,” he says. “Number forty-three, actually.”

He’s expecting a laugh, of course, but I can’t seem to conjure it.

“What?” he asks, frowning as he studies my face.

“What exactly is her unique perspective?”

“Oh, well, she went to live with her aunt and uncle after her parents died,” he says, then sips his wine. “Her younger cousin suffers from night terrors. Tia knows how to respond when someone wakes up screaming. It seemed like a perfect match.”

I gape at him. There really aren’t enough words. “Gee, Uncle Finn. Why didn’t you just set me up with a nursing student?”

“Don’t be silly. You don’t need medical care. But if you have an episode, Tia not only understands, but knows how to help.” He frowns, studying my face. “What? Don’t you like Tia?”

I want to scream. I literally want to scream. “I adore Tia,” I say slowly. “What I didn’t like was being locked in that damn boarding school. I wasn’t disturbed then,” I say, making finger quotes. “And I don’t need a babysitter now.”

“The boarding school?” He shakes his head, his expression suggesting I’d been speaking Klingon.

“You didn’t want to deal with it. With me.”

“Cora, I talked to the doctors. To the admission staff. To the school psychiatrist. You told them you were traveling to distant worlds where your nightmares were really happening.”