She stilled, her sobs pausing for a moment before starting again. “Nobody’s ever kissed me before.”
“I’ve never kissed anyone before,” I mumbled against her head. “Come on, now, dream girl. Get some real rest.”
I guided her into a serene dream, slipping from my dreams to hers so I could build her a sanctuary from the darkness. I watched over heras she slipped into a peaceful slumber. Then, anger funneled through me as I thought about everything she’d told me.
Vengeance wasn’t my jurisdiction, but being a dream demon meant I could at least make them pay a little for Pandora's pain.
With shaky hands and a heart thundering against my ribs, I entered Dex’s dreams before I could think too much about it. I stood above the dream canvas on a purple cloud and started to dig through memories and weave together a nightmare to torture his soul.
I plunged him into his own shadows and had his own magic turn on him. His shadow tendrils ripped him apart piece by piece as he screamed in terror.
My magic reserves filled as I oscillated into Skel’s dream, pushing past the fae magic from his high. I’d never heard of any dream demon or drude being able to force past fae magic before, but I was more motivated than ever before. He needed to pay for what he did to Pandora. I gave him a nightmare of him dying by his own fear magic losing control. He made the wrong demons mad in a village as he leaked magic, and they went after him. He got cut down the middle of his body, separating the two halves by a scorching shadow tendril.
I jumped out of that nightmare quickly andentered Hemlock’s last, trying to save the magical energy I had left to terrorize him. I was the most angry at him for harassing Pandora. I bestowed him a nightmare of being beaten by his father and told over and over again that he’ll never amount to anything. It was from his memories.
When I started to feel bad about what I was doing to them, I thought of Pandora's tears, and that steeled my resolve.
I couldn’t muster the energy to visit Dreadful, but it didn’t matter because I started to shake with fear at what I had just done.
The realization that I had been inotherdemons’ dreams whipped at me, but I tried to push the fear down.
I had gotten my revenge on them.
I slipped out of my dreamscape and woke up at the same time as Hemlock. His wide eyes met mine across the room, and he snarled.
“Mind your own fucking business, Nyx,” he snarled.
“Planned on it,” I mumbled sleepily before turning over in the bed and falling asleep.
34
PANDORA
Iwasn’t sure I’d ever get used to the feeling of sand shifting when I walked or the way the breeze felt on my skin. I’d dreamed about the world beyond the four walls I’d spent the majority of my life within, but nothing could’ve prepared me for the beauty of nature. Reading and experiencing it firsthand were two separate things.
The fading sun cast a warm glow on my hair, and it skimmed my waist as I walked. I liked how the cool air soothed my skin, smelling faintly of rain and the caramel scent that always seemed to cling to me.
I still hadn’t experienced rain, but I knew what it smelled like. I remembered when it would rain, and the cellar leaked just above my head with the smallest trickles of water.
I hoped it would rain soon.
Hugging my arms around myself, my hair slid around me like a blanket. Each step felt heavier than the last, my mind replaying the past.
Hunter's sessions hadn't cracked the walls around my trauma, and the questions that haunted me remained unanswered. Had I destroyed dark magic within Mother? The memory of being violently ill afterward surfaced, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.
Her soul tasted rotten, and I thought it was because I didn’tjustdevour her soul. I devoured something dark inside of her, too.
I’d taken to walking in the evening to avoid the snide remarks from Dreadful every time I was in my room. It was like she wanted to tear me down at any and every possible moment.
I strode across Cryptic Altar, and the sight of another dark magic circle around it jolted me to a stop. A sickening sense of déjà vu gripped me.
Before I could think, my powers surged forth, dark smoke spiraling from my lips to devour the remnants of dark magic within the circle. It spread forth, swallowing it whole and crashing back into me.
The aftermath of eating it was swift and brutal. I collapsed to my knees, puking a viscous black tar that seeped into the sand below. Itlooked just like what I had puked after eating Mother’s soul.
Trembling, I clutched my stomach, the knots in it wounding tighter with each labored breath. I managed to climb to my feet and make my way to Reform Hall as nausea pulsed at my vision.
Hemlock entered the lobby just as I stumbled in, his presence doing very little to steady the turmoil inside me.
