I fight against the paralysis, but it’s no use. I can’t break free.
“What a surprising thing you’ve done,” she continues. “I thought for sure you were so terribly broken when I killed your father that you’d never find happiness. But then you married her. A Castleview witch." Her voice drips with disdain. "And your magic—it's changing. Growing stronger. The wedding created a bond I didn't anticipate.” She pauses. "If I wait much longer, you'll be too powerful to kill. So I'm striking now, before your bond solidifies.”
She stops directly in front of me. Every ounce of me wants to stand and snap her neck. “I hoped when I came for Nightmare's power—the power that should have been mine—you'd be too broken to fight back. But you foundher. You’re bonding with her. And now you're actually happy.”
She spits the last word like poison.
"That complicates things. Can't have you at full strength when I rip Nightmare from you.
“Oh, you’re so mad,” she says in a mock-sweet voice. “This is fun, coming to you in a dream and taking control so that you can’t hurt me. Not like you want to.”
Not likeIwant to,Nightmare roars.
She takes a step closer, bending so that we’re eye level. “If you come for me, it’ll be the greatest mistake of your life. You never should’ve found me. Because what I will do to you, Eryx Nightshade, is take every bit of happiness you have and shred it to pieces.”
“Go ahead and try,” I grind out.
She straightens. “I think I will.” She turns and walks away. When she reaches the window, the figure whips around. “Starting now. Tell me, Eryx—do you know how your wife is doing?”
My blood goes cold. “No, not her!”
She cackles. “Better wake up. You’ve got less than two minutes to save her.”
She vanishes through the window like smoke.
Two minutes.
Break it, Nightmare screams.Break everything. Now!
I stop fighting the paralysis. Instead I do what I should have done from the start. I pull Nightmare’s power inward, creating a vacuum—and then?—
The room explodes outward, glass and shadow fragmenting into nothing, and I wake up, gasping.
My gaze scours the room. Moonlight splashes in from the window, pooling on the gray stone.
Chelsea,Nightmare yells.
I whip my head toward the door. It’s still open.
And I hear it. A crash and then?—
Chelsea screams.
Chelsea
Claws.
All I see are razor-sharp claws that slam onto the mattress and pull, tearing it to shreds with one swipe.
I scream and scramble backward, falling off the bed.
The creature roars. It’s so dark in this room that the thing is all shadows and sharp edges—too big, too wrong. Nightmare-made.
From the corner of the room, Echo barks. The creature swings its massive body toward the shadow pup.
No!
I grab the closest thing—a lamp—and throw it at the creature. It hits the monster’s back and explodes into a thousand fragments.
