Dammit.
I’m a sucker for a great gown.
I’ve even got pink sparkly sneakers I can wear under it, and I silently promise that whatever happens tonight, I’m not losing my shoes.
“Okay,” I say quietly. “I’ll get dressed.”
Chelsea
There are hundreds of us making our way to the barrier. It looms ominously ahead—a transparent circular portal, tall as a house, a misty image on the other side—homes, wet streets. The picture is distorted, warped like it’s a wall of water and not one of magic.
The Nightmare District was here before Castleview, before any of us, and I have a feeling that if my town disappeared tomorrow, this place will continue to exist, unaffected.
“Isn’t this exciting?” Dallas nudges me. “We’re about to walk in.”
“With hundreds of other people.”
“That makes it all the better.”
I give her a side-eye as she grins. “You’re not bringing me down tonight, Chelsea. Nothing you can say will damage my mood.”
Emory links her arm in mine. “Me neither.”
“I thought you’d have enough sense to want to avoid this place.”
“Never,” she replies with a giggle. “This is the chance of a lifetime.”
“It might be the last chance, too,” I grumble.
“What’d you say?”
“Nothing.”
I’m with my four sisters—besides Dallas and Emory, the two youngest are Finn and Georgia. Ovie and my nana are escorting us. My parents are coming, too; they’re just a little behind.
And to be honest, it looks likeallof Castleview has taken the opportunity to meet the Nightmare King. I seriously doubt everyone has an invitation. There are just too many of them.
This is probably the king’s plan. Get us out of our houses, curse them while we’re gone. When we return, we’ll slowly go mad from the nightmares he’ll cast while we sleep.
They say he doesn’t walk in daylight. They say he can pull fear from your throat with a glance.
They say a lot of things.
Our group reaches the barrier, and Ovie eyes it. It’s even more looming up close, the distortion a wave instead of a simple ripple. It looks thick and viscous, like I’ll have to swim to the other side.
My aunt turns around. She looks beautiful in a gold dress with her hair swept back from her face. “Girls, this is it. Are y’all ready?”
“Yes,” everyone says but me.
My nana, hovering beside Ovie, gives me a sharp look.
“Yes,” I reply, forcing a smile. “I’m ready.”
“Then let’s do this. Stick together.”
I grab both Dallas’s and Emory’s hands and step into the barrier. A shock wave of icy cold magic hits me. Yes, it’s a wall, and it makes every inch of my skin awaken like I’ve been tossed into a cold pool of water.
It’s so jarring that I gasp, and that makes it worse. Unease seeps into my bones, but along with it comes something else, a familiarity, like my body recognizes this.
