AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Come.” He stood, grabbing my arm and pulling me to my feet.
I might have protested the rough handling, but he was right, I should have addressed that first. Getting Baz back on his feet was one of our top priorities. I turned toward Dio and Geraint. Nic tugged on my arm.
“They can catch up.”
“Okay.” I let him drag me away from my men.
Ash went to Geraint’s side and waved me on. I knew my cousin would help them if they needed anything.
We hurried through Dream Palace.
It was a beautiful place, full of rainbows and crystals and light. I could easily imagine elves or other fantasy beings living here.
The princes of Nightmare inhabited a slightly darker wing of Dream Palace when they were here. Nic claimed to enjoy the brightness, but he always sighed in relief when he reached the shadows. His powers were all related to the darkness. He, in fact, had a hard time remaining completely solid and the bright lights sapped his energy, unlike when he was free to shift in and out of the shadow realm. I’d grown used to his somewhat mutable appearance. I certainly enjoyed his powers over the shadows and the entertaining things he could do with them.
Worry for Baz kept me from feeling all hot and bothered when I thought of Nic’s shadowy tentacles crawling all over my body, but only barely. We could play later.
The darker lighting felt better to me, too. Was I getting used to the shadows of Nightmare? Or was it just because of the exhaustion tugging at my eyelids and the pressure pounding behind my eyes?
Nic pushed open a door near the suite they’d given me and led me inside a bedroom similar to mine. This suite was decorated with a few touches of personality, unlike mine. A fire burned in the seemingly mandatory fireplace, though I’d never experienced an uncomfortable temperature in Dream. It seemed only Nightmare had the creeping coldness that I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to.
I looked around, curious as to what a younger Baz might have considered decoration. Though I hadn’t spent a lot of time thinking about it, I would have guessed fierce animals of mythology or even of the Conscious Realm. Pirates maybe, or tall ships, or even winged birds or dragons perched on high cliffs. Baz had always loved games that involved jumping from high places and splashing into water. I had not expected winged horses. I supposed that was kind of like a dragon. I couldn’t remember anything from our play as kids that made me think Baz was into horses, but they pranced and flew across every decorated surface, and one magnificent tapestry hung over the fireplace. I stopped and stared for a moment before hurrying after Nic. My shadowy prince was opening another door that likely went into a bedroom if the design was anything like my rooms.
He glanced at me, then up at the tapestry, a smile flickering across his lips. “His obsession with winged horses is actually a touch conceited.”
“Oh?”
Nic winked at me before hurrying into the room.
Surprisingly, Robby and Casey sat watching over Baz. Robby held Casey’s hand and I couldn’t help but notice how tired she looked. Resigned, maybe? Or just the stress of the situation. She was a fellow circus performer who Geraint and I had become friends with over the last few months as we’d been on the same contract together. She’d unfortunately gotten tangled up in our mess and become dreambound at the same time Ash had. The clowns—scary-ass, powerful, Nightmare creatures who were currently working for the bad guys—had set Ash’s home on fire by igniting the gas lines. The only way we all survived was because I’d managed the impossible, opening an arch back to the Dream realms without a mirror or one of the mirror dwellers to guide us. With everything else that had happened since, I’d nearly forgotten I’d accomplished that feat.
“Hi, Casey,” I said. “Hey, Robby.”
“Princess,” Robby replied.
Casey waved and gave me a faint smile.
“You okay?”
She nodded. “Overwhelmed, but okay. Didn’t sleep well for a few nights.”
“I’m sorry you got tangled up in this.”
Casey shook her head. “It’s not your fault, Ember. Not anyone’s really.”
“Well, it is one person’s fault, but I sort of get where she’s coming from.” I gave them a quick rundown of what I’d learned as I fished Baz’s essence out of the pouch at my belt.
“Ahh, you found it. Where had they hidden the essence?” Robby asked once I had finished talking.
The ruby gem was warmed my palm, its energy connecting to Baz tingling up my arm.
“They’d hidden it in the middle of a corn field.”
Robby’s eyebrows rose. “And how did you recover it?”
I sighed. “A nothingness storm chased us in. We were lucky the corn being wanted to live as much as we did and allowed us to leave.”
“Surely you didn’t just walk out?”
