“I am notstained, you bastard.”
A shadow slipped beneath the water, pinching my side with a deftclip of what felt eerily similar to teeth. I blindly swiped at it, horrified, and watched as the entire swarm released itself from me, nestling back into place at his side.
“You’re a fitting counterpart to your Light Bringer,” the Shadow Bringer said disdainfully, brandishingLight Bringeras if it was a terrible insult. “Weak, deceptive, and unwilling to wield your power when it matters most.”
As he considered this, the shadows atop his shoulders roiled in unison. It bore a slight—very,veryslight—resemblance to laughter. But whatever it was, laughter or amusement or something else entirely, was gone before it could solidify, replaced instead by the Shadow Bringer’s overpowering scowl. The shadows quieted. “Still, this is an unforgivable breach,” he continued, deadly serious. “Come closer, dreamer. If you follow me and open the castle doors, I will consider showing you mercy. But only after I am freed and not a breath before.”
“Never,” I spat without hesitation.
“Then I will send you back to Mithras in pieces. Or you can help me. Your choice.”
Cold water continued to lap against me, swirling my dress into tangles. I kicked against the clinging folds, aiming to untangle the fabric from my legs, all the while fighting to keep my expression neutral. If the Shadow Bringer knew I was struggling, he’d likely use it against me. I had no doubt he’d force me underwater to suffocate in the murky, swirling liquid.
A strange, frantic understanding prodded at me.
Dream Weaver tales, along with other histories told within our kingdom, declared that the Shadow Bringerprevailedall those centuries ago, suffocating the Dream Realm with demons and Corruption. That he freely reigned, commanding his monstrous armies with a bloody fist and gnashing teeth. And yet here he was, trapped in his own castle and desperate for release. I wondered if the Light Bringer knew this. Because if the Shadow Bringer was vulnerable, I needed to stay alive long enough to tell him.
The Shadow Bringer noticed something in my expression—something distracting. He tilted his head. “You’re unable to swim. How unusual. Especially for a dreamer.”
“Don’t mock me, demon.” I sucked in an angry breath, indeed struggling to remain above the water.
He bared his teeth. “Careful.”
Something grabbed my flailing ankle,hard, and pulled me under.
At first, I thought it was him—that he manifested some ugly, clawing menace again for the sheer purpose of punishing me. But as I twisted, thrashing and choking, I saw what was squeezing my ankle so roughly that it was close to snapping.
The thing had golden eyes, a ruined, gaping mouth, and vaguely human features—but it wasn’t human at all.
A monster.
Ademon.
It peered at me through the water, its too-wide mouth snapping open and shut. I fought hard, kicking a heel into the demon’s bony neck. The cloth of my dress danced out of its claw, tumbling through the water like a frightened animal, and the demon gurgled out a piercing screech so full of madness that its entire body quaked.
I surged to the surface and took a deep breath.
Then it grabbed my ankle with both claws, dragging me under a second time.
My arms moved in ways I wasn’t conscious of—jerking, swirling, reaching—and my lungs filled with a brutal, suffocating flame. I was dying. I was going to die. And it felt soreal. This was a dream, but the fire burning my lungs and breaking my ankle wasreal.
The thing fixed its yellowed eyes on me again.
Wasthiswhat it felt like to fall into Corruption? To be taken, ruined from within?
The water shifted into darker and colder hues as we dropped, clouding my vision and settling over the scarred face of my captor. Itsyellow-gold eyes were incredibly swollen, bulging out of its skin, giving the impression of a giant, misshapen river fish.
The claws at my ankle slipped, sinking deep into my boot and pulling it off.
Now. I had to movenow.
Again, I tore my way to the surface, hating myself for being so damnablyuselessat swimming. My shin knocked against something—another demon? No, a ledge—and I stepped on it, not caring that my left ankle was shrieking, likely broken.
The Shadow Bringer stood with his arms crossed, unbothered by my struggles.
“Will you come with me now?”
“No.”
