"You left the Star Court," he continued, circling her slowly. "I felt it the moment you crossed their borders. The pretty wards the Star Prince built around you, all that careful protection—it doesn't extend beyond his territory." His fingers trailed across her shoulders as he moved behind her. "Now you're in the wilderness. Exposed."
"You can't find me." The words came out more confident than she felt.
"Can't I?" His breath was warm against her ear. "I'm inside your head right now, dear one. You don't think that gives me some indication of where you are?"
The throne room flickered, and for a moment she saw trees, darkness, and heard the sound of wind through branches. Then it solidified again, Malus's hand on her shoulder turning her to face him.
"Tell me where you're going," he said, and she felt the compulsion push through the marks, trying to force the words from her throat.
Her jaw clenched. The compulsion pulled, insisted, but nothing came out. The dream space wavered slightly.
Malus's eyes narrowed, a mixture of amusement and fury floating in their depths. "Interesting. The bargain doesn't hold as well in dreams." His hand moved to her throat, fingers tracing the marks. "But these still burn, don't they? Still pull you toward me even when you're asleep?"
"Let me go."
"Why would I do that?" His other hand found her waist, pulling her closer. "You're finally somewhere I can reach you. No wards, no court protections, just you and me and the connection you can't sever."
Briar tried to pull away but his grip tightened, and the marks flared with heat that made her gasp.
"You're heading toward something," he mused, studying her face. "Something important. My brother wouldn't risk taking you into the wilderness otherwise."
She pressed her lips together, refusing to answer.
"It doesn't matter." His smile widened. "Wherever you’re going, you won't reach it in time. I'm already so close, dear one. So close to having everything I need." His hand on her throat squeezed slightly. "Including you."
"I'll never help you."
"You won't have a choice." His thumb brushed across the marks. "These make sure of that. And once I have you back, once I extract what's hidden inside you..." He leaned in, his lips nearly touching hers. "We'll have all the time in the world to explore what you've become. How sweet hope must make your blood."
The throne room began to darken, shadows creeping in from the corners.
"Sweet dreams, my lady," he whispered. "I'll be seeing you soon."
The marks on her throat suddenly burned white-hot, searing, and she screamed—
Briar jolted awake, gasping, her hand flying to her throat. The marks were on fire, actually burning, and she couldn't breathe, couldn't think past the pain.
"Briar." Eliam's voice, urgent. His hands on her face, turning her toward him. "Briar, look at me."
She focused on his eyes, dark and intense in the dim firelight.
"Breathe," he commanded. "Just breathe."
She sucked in air, her chest heaving, the marks still burning but starting to fade from white-hot to merely painful. Tears streamed down her face from the intensity of it.
"He was in my head, I could feel his hands, the mark," she managed. "Malus. He—"
"I know." His thumb brushed away her tears. "The marks were glowing. Burning through your skin. I tried to wake you but you wouldn't respond."
She pressed her hand over his where it cupped her face, anchoring herself in his solid presence. The dream was already fragmenting the way dreams do, but Malus's words echoed:I'm already so close.
"He knows we left the Star Court," she said. "He felt it. He's looking for us. For me."
Eliam's jaw tightened. "Can he see where we are? Through the dream?"
"I don't think so. He tried to make me tell him but the compulsion didn't work right." She touched her throat again, feeling the marks still hot beneath her fingers. "But he knows we're in the wilderness. He knows we're heading somewhere."
Around them, the camp was stirring. The others had noticed something was wrong—her scream had been audible, and the way Eliam had moved had been urgent enough to wake the lighter sleepers.
