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Ash rolled to her feet and left. I didn’t follow, respecting that she needed some space. It me a while, but finally, I got up and left, too, heading into the gardens I usually loved.
They were in full bloom, the geese we kept doing a good job of keeping the weeds down. I sat against the willow tree and stared out over the small duck pond. A pair paddled softly along, and I wished I had my sketch pad for half a second. Then that made me think of Geraint and all the times we’d spent together, him watching over me while I sketched.
The tears came then, flowing freely down my cheeks, and I buried my face against my knees while I cried. The situation was completely hopeless. I’d only escaped the nothingness because I’d had Baz’s essence and it was tethered to him. There was no way I could go back in, find my men, and get us all out. And Baz—what to do about him? I was afraid that if we didn’t complete our bond soon, he’d fade away, but neither of us felt that kind of connection. Or maybe we were just scared of each other. And what of Dream itself? What would happen to us if it was destroyed? Or had it already happened and this hopelessness everyone, including my parents, felt was a part of the destruction?
There were so many questions with no answers, and it felt like the entire weight of both worlds was on my shoulders.
Someone settled next to me and put their arm around my shoulders.
The familiar scent of Old Spice enveloped me as I sank into the comfort I’d depended on for as long as I could remember. “Hey, Dad.”
He hugged me tight and let me cry.
Once I wore myself out, he sighed. “I wish I had answers for you, honey.”
“Me too.”
“Your mother wants to keep you close, find a way to explain your reappearance to the authorities, and go back to the way things were.”
“Yeah, that’d be nice.” I rubbed my eyes.
“But they wouldn’t be the same,” Dad pointed out. “Geraint is missing. Your friend, Baz, is obviously hurting. Dio and Nic are gone and whatever is up with Ash.” He shrugged then glanced at me. “What is up with Ash?”
“It’s complicated, Dad. She got pulled into dream with us. Casey, too. She’s stuck there, but Robby is staying with her. Ash, well, she worked out something with the princesses so she could get back out, but I don’t know what. We haven’t really had a chance to talk.”
“That’s why she doesn’t want to contact anyone?”
“Yeah.”
Dad sighed. “This is all so very strange.”
“Yeah. If I’d known my childhood friends were from another realm, I wouldn’t have changed anything.” I forced a quick laugh. “So there’s no sense in pretending I wished I hadn’t met them. Especially since I wouldn’t have had Geraint if they’d never stepped through the cabin mirror. But now I’ve lost everything.”
Dad hugged me again. “You still have plenty, Ember. And even if you can’t have a normal life here anymore, you’ll find a way to save Dream, and you can come visit any time.”
“But I’m not that person, Dad. I can’t save the world. I can’t do anything. What good is a performer in a situation like that?”
“Ember, even starting your life in aerial like you did, the odds of you making a super successful business out of your skills were stacked against you, and yet you, Geraint, and Robby succeeded. Your mother and I have always been so proud of you for that. Other things, too, but chasing your passion and succeeding is amazing. You can do this, too.”
“But how?”
Dad squeezed my shoulder. “What do you need to make happen?”
“Save everything?”
“Smaller pieces, Ember. What do you need?”
“I need to rescue Nic and Geraint, and Dio. Then I need to figure out how to stop Effie. Then I need to put everything back together.”
“I know how to stop Effie.”
I glanced up, startled, as Baz sat down next to us. He handed me a cool, damp cloth to wipe my face with.
“How?”
“We must create a forgotten dream for her. A place where she can live out her desired life but be so deprived of actual Dream energy that she doesn’t realize she’s trapped. We can craft it in such a way that she’ll interact with people she remembers, age as she remembers, and eventually die. Or we can trap her in the forgotten dream and then kill her. I don’t really care as long as she’s dealt with.”
“That sounds too simple.”
