“That would bug the shit out of me,” Sera mumbled, sliding her eyes to the dress hanging on the door. “But what is the dress for?”
“This is the insane part. Almost every night, I have these dreams, and I’m either in somewhere I know from Erdikoa, or in an unfamiliar place that feels familiar.” She hesitated, genuinely worried about how Sera would react. “The same man is always there. At first, I thought he was the man who killed my sister, but Lauren slipped up and said when I was in Vincula, there was a man I thought was Cora’s murderer, but he wasn’t.” Sera watched her with rapt attention, encouraging her to continue. “His name is Caius.”
“As in Caius theUmbra King?” Sera whispered with big eyes.
Rory nodded. “Yes. He said we were dating, and the worst part is that I believe him. I can feel it. Every time we’re in a dream, we’re wearing what we wore to bed.” She swallowed, praying Sera would take this in stride. “Last night, he asked me to wear a dress tonight.”
Sera flapped her hands excitedly. “Like for a date?”
Relief flooded Rory’s body at the lack of judgment on her friend’s face. “I don’t know, but that’s why I need a dress.”
“Do you think you’reactuallymeeting the king in your dreams?”
Rory straightened and looked down at Sera. She never considered the possibility that the dreams were real. “I assumed my memories were trying to come back, which is why I need to pick your brain.” Sera shifted to all business as she waited. “There is something important I’m missing. I need to get my memories back, but I don’t know how or if it’s even possible.”
“We’ll think of something,” Sera promised. “I’ll think on it, and we can ask—”
“No,” Rory said, cutting her off. “No one else can know. You seemed to be the most likely to believe me, but the others won’t. Even if they did, they would tell me to leave well enough alone and enjoy my time back.”Like Lauren, Sam, and Caius.
Sera beamed with pride. “Okay. You know, Keith’s parents areMunin. If you’re almost remembering things, maybe their abilities will work on you.”
“I can’t ask them to do that, and that would involve telling Keith.” She paused. “That will be our last resort.” Even then, she didn’t know if she would risk getting someone else in trouble for selfish gain.
Sera slumped and said something under her breath before perking up. “Wait! Do you remember the Glassman movie where the villain had a mind eraser weapon?” Rory nodded, unsure where she was going with this. “Glassman went to some super lab and asked them to create a potion to reverse the effects.”
Glassman was a supermystic who turned into unbreakable glass.He was one of Dume’s favorites when they were kids. “Potions like that are illegal.” A light went off in Rory’s head, and she shook Sera’s shoulder.Fiona. “You beautiful genius! I know someone.”
“Who?” Sera whispered, peeking out of the curtain.
“AnAlchemistwho sells illegal potions in the underground market. Whatever you need, she can make.” Rory and Sera stared at each other, smiling like idiots.
“How are we going to ditch the giant on the sidewalk?” Sera asked, chewing her thumbnail.
Rory shook her head. “The underground market is dangerous. I won’t risk you getting hurt.”
Sera’s face transformed into one that would scare Sam. “I am going, and if you say no, I’ll go by myself.”
“You’re scary as fuck sometimes,” Rory muttered with a hint of admiration.
Sera tightened her bright red ponytail. “I know. Now, when are we going?”
“Is everything all right in there?” an associate asked from the other side of the curtain, startling both girls.
“We’re fine,” Sera called back. “Just discussing boys. We’ll be out in a moment.”
“Let me know if I can help with anything,” the woman responded before walking away.
“At some point this week, Sam and Lauren will switch shifts, leaving me alone with my dad.” Their scheming brought on a wave of guilt. Rory berated Lauren for saying she would sneak out, and now she was planning to do exactly that. “We can leave then. The only problem is I won’t know they’re switching shifts until the night of.”
Sera shrugged. “I’ll be on standby. Call me, and I’ll come get you.”
“You have a car?” Most people didn’t.
“Yes. My dad lives on the outskirts, and taking a cab that far is too expensive,” she said.
Rory clasped Sera’s hands in hers. “Thank you.”
Sliding open the curtain, Sera stepped out and waved Rory off. “No problem.” She looked around and found an associate. “We need help to find the perfect dress.”
