“Did you think you could escape?”A cold, invisible finger traced down my neck.“No one ever escapes me. You are mine, Devora.”He drew out my name, his voice so close now, I could practically feel his breath on me as ghostly fingers clamped over my throat.
The wound on my neck pulsed with white-hot pain. I tried to thrash out of his grip, but the nightmare ensnared me. I was powerless and at his mercy, the way he always wanted.
But then he released me.
The never-ending blackness of my dream gave way to a figure kneeling on the ground. As the shadows pulled it closer, it began to take form. Broad shoulders, thick muscles, unruly dark-blond hair.
Nox.
He was yanked backward by something I couldn’t see, forced to face me with a look of silent torment. I reached for him, my heart pumping louder with each passing second. What was he doing here? What didScarven?—
Nox’s shirt ripped open, and before I could blink, four claw marks dragged down his bare skin, so deep they cut through muscle until flesh dangled from his open chest.
“No!” I shrieked.
Panting, Nox rolled his head along his neck to stare at me, the light in his eyes dimming. He opened his mouth. “Dev?—”
With a jagged slash from an invisible blade, his head was severed from his body.
A scream burst from my throat. Pressure rose inside me, anguish flooding my veins without a way out. My arms vibrated with the force of it, my head pounding and chest crumbling and shadows?—
“Devora,” a voice whispered, breaking through the storm. “Devora, wake up.” It got clearer with every word, and the darkness began to dissipate. I could dimly feel rough hands holding my shoulders.
“It’s just a dream. You have to stop,” the voice said. I couldn’t tell if it was Scarven’s or Nox’s as my vision bled into reality.
With a whimper, I opened my eyes to find myself sitting upright in a bed, Nox’s navy eyes gleaming back at me. His body hovered a foot from mine, his knees pressed into the mattress on either side of me.
And behind him was a wall of shadows.
My eyes widened as I took it in. Surrounding us was a barrier of thick, billowing shadows, so tightly packed, they weren’t even able to dance and twist the way they always did. Faint shimmers of red flashed back at me, but they were gone before I could blink.
I looked down and saw wooden shards covering my hands and bed. The headboard had been obliterated. My shadows continued to gather, filling in the gaps between Nox and me, almost as if they were guarding us. They were full of a nervous, violent energy I’d never felt before.
“You have to call them back, Devora,” Nox said softly, cupping my cheek. My shadows looped up his arm. “You’re going to bring the whole room down.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to urge them back to me, but the shock from my dream still lingered fresh in my mind. My shadows responded to my panic. They solidified even more, and the chamber gave a sudden tremble.
“I don’t know how,” I gasped out. “They—they aren’t listening.” When I opened my eyes again, Nox inhaled sharply.
“Your eyes.” He stroked the top of my cheek. “They’re black again, like the night of the Noctus Vigil. Remember what Calyra said? Your shadows are tied to your emotions. Tell me what happened. Tell me what you’re feeling.”
I let out a small sob and shook my head, wanting to rid myself of the images. Those claw marks, his head rolling in the darkness, his body hitting the floor as blood coated my shadows.
Magic vibrated within me, and I heard something in the room crack.
“Devora,” he said firmly. “Look at me.” His hand on my neck forced me to meet his gaze.
A tear rolled down my cheek. “It was Scarven,” I whispered. “He was there. He said I would never escape him. And then he—you—” My words turned into a shudder, and my shadows lashed out, wrapping around my waist like they could shield me.
“It wasn’t real,” Nox said. “Whatever you saw, whatever he said, it wasn’t real. He can’t get to you.”
I sniffed and held back another sob. “It wasn’t me. It—it was you. He killedyou.”
His throat bobbed as he swallowed, then slowly put his forehead to mine. “He will never take me from you, Devora, darling. I’m not leaving you.”
I’m not leaving you.
I knew he couldn’t promise it. I knew we had no way of controlling what happened next. But his words still soothed something inside me, still erased the pockets of doubt and fear enough for my shadows to slowly, slowly, slowly make their way back to me.
