With one hard yank, she breaks my necklace and rips it right off my neck.
CHAPTER 58
Durvla
One minute,we’re walking, and the next I drop like a stone. I hardly register the pain that flares through my hands, then my cheek, as I try and fail to catch myself before my vision goes white.
I find myself in a dark tunnel with weepy, stone walls. My heart pounds, and I break out in a cold sweat as I seek the end of the burrow. Fear grips my heart, and a voice echoes eerily. “Durvla, dreamwalk to me. Please. Please, Durvla.”
The voice wavers in and out, my surroundings spotting and disintegrating in front of me, only to restructure again. It feels like I’m continually falling. Replaying the same moment over and over again.
I turn left into another part of the tunnel and look around wildly. I’ve been here before… haven’t I?
The voice returns, fragmented. “Durvla, please.” There’s so much pain in that voice.
Carys’s voice.
Sadistic laughter echoes from someone else.
My surroundings collapse again and reform, and I want to scream from this never-ending dreamscape.
“Oh Caaaaaaarys.”
Goddess, am I walking in circles? The voices persist, but I don’t know which direction they’re coming from. There’s no light, no end in sight. I veer toward the right side this time, where the tunnel forks, my boots pounding against the damp ground for what feels like forever.
Dead end after dead end taunts me, and I bite back a scream of frustration.
“Wake up, Princess?—”
I wake with a gasp, the scent of blood in my nostrils. Gagging, I roll to the side, dry heaving while my stomach spasms. My heart flutters in my chest, fear pulsing through me.
Someone takes hold of my arm, and I wildly swat them away. “Garrick, it’s me,” Kilkenny mind-speaks. I startle, though I force myself to pay attention to my surroundings. I’m on a riverbank, dirt and patchy grass beneath me. Kilkenny looms over me, and as I lurch upright, he straightens, sitting back against his heels.
My heart is still racing, and I can’t catch my breath. My legs burn as though I’ve truly been running, but cold trepidation skitters across my skin. Each breath is shallower than the last, and I fear I’ll soon stop breathing all together. I fear my world will cease to exist completely.
I’m going to die. Right here.
My heart is going to give out. I draw in another ragged breath, clutching at my aching chest.
Alys appears beside me. “Describe what you see right now, sweetling,” she signs.
“Grass,” I choke out. “River. Mountains.” I try to make a full sentence, but it’s like I’ve forgotten how to speak properly.
“Good. Keep going.” She places a hand gently on my forehead and a warm sensation flows through my body, soothing and calming me. “What else?”
“Kilkenny.”
He smiles tightly at me. I hate the worry on his face.
In turn, I focus on each of them. “Chiyo… Osheen.” They’re both sitting nearby, concern radiating from them. My cheeks heat up even as I fight the tears filling my eyes. Slowly, my breathing regulates, my heart beginning to steady.
“Welcome back,” Kilkenny motions. “You gave us a scare.”
I can only blink back tears and focus on steeling myself. Chiyo rises from her haunches and brings over my waterskin. She hands it to me, and I thank her before guzzling down the whole thing. The voices from that bizarre tunnel echo in my mind again. I inhale shakily.
“Are you alright?” Chiyo asks. “You just… fell. Out of the blue. Thud.” She shrugs, perplexed. Apparently, we all are.
I face Osheen, who nods in confirmation and signs, “I thought you were having an episode, but then you wouldn’t wake up.” He swallows hard. He wants to say more. I know him, but now he’s guarded, choosing his words carefully.
