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Feeling a little better, I sat up on my knees. I wasn’t shocked to find us in Dream Palace. I thought I’d recognized the pearlescent granite floors under my face. Not that I’d spent much time that up close and personal with them, but I’d certainly had my fair share of times to stare at them while being scolded.
As I’d suspected, the knight had taken my princess. A couple of Dream attendants lifted Baz onto a litter.
The jester and his mortal hung back and watched, and I didn’t see Ember’s cousin. Maybe she’d gone with the knight.
“How are you feeling?” Nic asked again.
“Like shit.”
He helped while I climbed to my feet. “You’re lucky to be alive to feel like shit,” Nic pointed out with a smile.
I nodded and quickly regretted it. The world lurched.
“Go take care of your princess,” I said to Nic when he let go of my arm. “I haven’t been gone so long that I don’t know the way to my room.”
The weight of Nic’s stare felt heavy on my shoulders as I got my bearings and headed toward a place I could rest. When I turned the corner, I looked back. He was staring at me, more solid than not because of all the light in Dream palace, a frown marring his brow.
I looked away and headed for my room. I needed a significant amount of sleep before I decided what to do next.
***
A solid stretch of rest had me feeling better, but far from good. I threw back the covers on my bed and reflected that my room, the suite that connected me to my brother’s rooms, and their accommodations were probably the only darkly decorated places in the entire palace. The Nightmare queen’s rooms might also be dark, but I’d never been in them.
The rest of the palace was all rainbows and unicorn farts, and normally I enjoyed visiting for a few days and getting a different view than the darker muted colors of Nightmare, but I was always glad to get home.
Home. The land that was being erased, and we didn’t even know why or how. The need to go home gripped me. Without the mirrors to travel through, it would take longer to get there. It was possible I’d recovered enough to fully shift into my other form. I’d try once I was free of the palace and the city that surrounded it. The Dream beings freaked out a little when Nightmare creatures stalked through their pristine white streets.
I got up, took a minute to clean up in the human-style bathroom and exchange my conscious realm clothing for some created of Nightmare essence so I could change it at will. Also, it would resist actual damage, and the conscious realm stuff was beginning to smell. I left my old clothing on the ground and headed for the kitchen to ease my grumbling stomach. Then I’d leave.
The only people I encountered were the palace staff, beings crafted from Dream, wearing the sparkly rainbow tabards of the royal livery. They hurried about on their duties.
I let myself into the kitchen. I’d spent a lot of time here as a kid. Nic didn’t eat a lot but Baz and I had devoured everything in sight and come back for more when they’d let us.
The staff recognized me, of course, and even acted pleased to see me. I suffered through the small talk with a smile. Normally, I wouldn’t have minded. I just wanted to get away now. Away from the place where my princess was. The princess I couldn’t have.
Why had they kept us from her after they’d found out we’d accidentally bound ourselves to her? Why had the knight overstepped? And why had I separated myself from my essence instead of going to Ember once I was in the conscious realm? Those questions plagued me while I tried to eat.
I clenched my fist, appetite gone. Shoving the last of the food down my throat took most of my energy. I made my way out of the kitchen, forcing out a few more pleasantries, before I stalked toward the nearest exit. I couldn’t be sure because he didn’t say anything, but I thought I sensed Nic watching me from the shadows.
The guards at the side door I chose didn’t question me, simply opened the door. I walked out into the beautiful gardens that surrounded Dream Palace. It took everything I had not to stomp an ugly path through the colorful blooms. I was an adult. I wasn’t going to have a tantrum. At least not where anyone could see it.
I barely paid attention to town, and as soon as I reached the wilds beyond, I sank down to my knees and forced my tired body into one last change. My feline shape reluctantly emerged. A brief rest gave me enough energy to trot away, but not enough to stretch my wings. Maybe when I got back to Nightmare, I’d be able to reclaim my former abilities and powers. Until then, I’d do the best I could. Alone. Because there was no way I could accept someone other than one of my brothers touching my mate.
Geraint
I brushed my hand through my spark’s hair and watched the gentle rise and fall of her chest. She slept deeply. Nic assured me he thought she was simply resting from overdoing it. I suspected he was right. Still, I sat in a heavily cushioned chair next to the bed in this opulent room Robby claimed belonged to the Nightmare Princess.
The décor was much darker in this room than in most of the rest of the palace: heavy woods, darker tones of colors, fitting for someone who was of the conscious realm, but also Nightmare.
As if summoned by my thoughts, the shadow prince swirled into existence next to me.
“Still asleep,” Nic observed, sitting on the bed next to her and putting his hand on her leg.
“Yes.”
“Dio left,” Nic said with a sigh.
“Why?”
