Page 36 of Realm of Dreams & Shadows

And somehow, that’s even more terrifying.

The air shimmers, and suddenly he’s there.

Adric.

The king who kissed me. His silver eyes. His left cheek scarred like Dream Chase’s right.

He’s even more beautiful than I remembered, and infinitely more terrifying.

“Soon,” he says, his voice a caress that makes me want to melt into his embrace—even though I know I should run far, far away. “Very soon now, my bride.”

Bride.

My body goes cold from the word, then hot with terror as the creatures surge forward, their voices chittering, their eyes hungry. And as they rush toward me, I open my mouth to scream and scream and⁠—

“NO!”

I jolt awake with a shriek that echoes through the lecture hall. Every head turns toward me, at least thirty pairs of eyes staring as I sit there trembling, sweat-soaked and gasping.

Professor Valdez has stopped mid-sentence, her face a mask of professional concern. “Miss Lyte? Are you all right?”

The silence stretches, broken only by my ragged breathing and the scratch of pens as students pretend to mark up their notes while actually gawking at the girl who just had a public freak out.

“I—” My voice comes out as a croak. “I’m sorry. I need to⁠—”

I grab my bag and flee, pushing past wide-eyed classmates and out into the hallway. The whispers follow me⁠—

“Did you see her face?”

“Holy shit. She like totally went off the rails.”

I pretty much sprint to the nearest restroom, intending to hide there for at least half an hour so the halls will be clear when I head back to the dorm to hide under the covers.

Except I can’t.

I can’t hide anymore. I can’t keep pretending that I know how to handle it.

So I do the only thing I can think of—I force myself to leave the stall, then walk fast, making absolutely zero eye contact, my body still burning with mortification as I hurry to the Admin building to find Uncle Finn.

His office door is closed, but I storm past the reception desk and barge in anyway, needing to see him. Needing to shake off both the dream and the creepy sensation I’d felt during the short walk here—that I was being watched. Followed.

“Cora?” He pushes out of his chair and hurries around his desk, waving away his assistant who’d hurried in after me. “What the hell happened? Are you okay?”

I must look as bad as I feel because in seconds, he’s guiding me to the leather chair across from his desk and pressing a glass of water into my hands.

“I had a nightmare,” I say, my voice shaking as hot tears streak down my cheeks. “In class. In front of everyone.” I shudder. “I screamed and woke up, and everyone was staring at me.”

His brow creases. “I thought you had them under control.”

I shrug.

He sighs, nods slowly, then crouches in front of me, his hands on my knees. “How long has this been going on, kiddo?” he asks, his voice gentle.

“Since Mom died.”

“What?” His voice rises with shock. “You said they stopped at school. The principal should have told me.”

I shrug. “I bribed my roommate to not tell anyone. I was afraid you’d send me someplace worse, and that place was plenty bad.”