Page 57 of Realm of Dreams & Shadows

“We’ll do research,” I say. “Maybe we’ll think of something you haven’t tried.” I look up at Chase. “There must be a way, right?”

“We’ll look,” he says, but from his tone and Tia’s expression, I can tell they both think it’s a fool’s errand.

“Right now, it doesn’t matter,” she says. “Fixing me would be great, but it’s too much of a long shot to waste time on. Not when freakish creatures like that Vex thing are trying to kill Cora.”

“Not kill her,” Chase says. “Take her.”

“Where?” Tia asks, looking at Chase.

But it’s me who answers.

“The Nightmare King,” I say, my words soft, but whether with fear or desire, I don’t know, and I keep my head down so that Chase can’t see my face. Because although I’m sure he would see genuine fear in my eyes, he might also see curiosity.

Worse, he might see desire.

“Why does he want Cora?” Tia asks.

“That’s a much longer conversation,” Chase says. “And not one we should have out in the open.” He glances around, scanning the shadows. “There could be others.”

That decides it for me. Whatever’s happening, I need answers—real ones, not the cryptic half-truths the Oneiroi offered.

“Okay,” I say, meeting Chase’s gaze. “Where do we go?”

Relief flashes across his face, quickly masked by determination. “My place. It’s warded—protected,” he clarifies. “No one can disturb us there. Not easily, anyway.”

Whistler nods. “The safest option at this point.”

Tia glances at me, silently asking if I trust them enough to go to this strange man’s home—especially a home that must be a fortress if it can keep out the likes of Vex.

But despite everything—the secrecy, the warnings, the frustrating evasions—I do trust him. After all, hasn’t Chase rescued me from the freakish sand monsters time and again? That’s got to be worth something.

“Your place it is,” I tell Chase. “But I want the whole truth. Not some patchwork quilt. Everything you know about what’s happening to me.”

He nods. “Everything I can tell you, I will. I promise.”

I turn to Tia. “And you too. No more secrets about magic or anything else.”

She holds up her hands. “I don’t have any other secrets, I swear. And I didn’t hold that one back from you—honest. I just don’t talk about it because it pisses me off. I mean, I can’t do magic. Done. End of story.”

“Maybe,” Chase says, his brow furrowing as he looks at her. “Or maybe not.”

Tia looks at me, and I see hope flare in her eyes. Mentally, I cross my fingers. As far as I’m concerned, the more friends I have around me, the better. And if they have superpowers? Well, I’m all for that too.

I’m on full alert as we follow Chase and Whistler through the moonlit gardens. Once we reach the street, Whistler moves ahead to scout while Chase stays close to us.

We walk in silence, but my head is full of Vex’s words—The Hunter cannot protect you forever. King Adric will claim what is his.

A shiver trills up my spine as I think about those words and the king’s kiss.

He’s playing games, of course. And my biggest fear is that he’s playing a game that I might want to lose.

Chapter

Sixteen

It’s a solid fifteen-minute walk from campus to Chase’s apartment in a quiet residential neighborhood. We walk mostly in silence, with Tia shooting me questioning glances every few blocks, and me answering with small, clueless shrugs.

It’s just the three of us since Whistler peeled off before we left campus. Now Chase leads us up narrow wooden stairs along the side of a Victorian house. Apparently, I was wrong about that whole fortress thing.