My nightmares have all but disappeared. Now they only come when something triggers me, and even that hasn’t happened in a while. My mate and family pulled me out of it. Helped me heal.
So why am I still stuck in this nightmare?
My head snaps back when I feel a presence behind me, but when I turn, there’s nothing there. Still, my instincts have never failed me. I can always tell when I’m being watched.
Someone is here.
I scan the woods, but I find nothing. Grace screams for help behind me, trying to get my attention, but for some reason, I can’t look away from the empty space to my right.
It’s not empty. I can feel it.
I slowly rise to my feet, turning my back on the horror behind me. The second it’s out of my sight, it becomes easier to ignore like it loses its hold on me.
That doesn’t happen in my nightmare. My past clings to me. follows me. haunts every step I take.
The trees ripple in front of me like static, and it’s gone so fast I almost miss it. The forest is still distorted, almost identical to the one I escaped, but something about it is off. It’s not memory. It’s… imitation.
There’s a scent in the air I ignored before, buried by my panic.
Faint. Rotting. Familiar.
Something slithers behind me, but again, there’s nothing to see when I turn.
A dark sensation crawls up my throat, and for the first time, I notice how quiet my Divine is… like it’s not here at all. You don’t lose your Divine in a dream. That’s the one constant I’ve always had.
This isn’t a nightmare.
There’s a faint whisper in my ear, and when I turn, my right arm brushes against something that sends a shiver down my spine.
And now I remember why this feels familiar.
I’ve felt this before. It lurked in the shadows when we went to the Griari Empire for August’s birthday.
I draw in a steady breath, trusting my instincts to point me in the right direction.
Another movement to my left cracks through the silence like thunder. Muscle memory takes over, and my hand shoots up, wrapping around something soft, thumb pressing into a spot that crushes a windpipe for good.
I turn toward my invisible prey, and when a pair of white eyes flickers to life in the dark, I know exactly what I’ve caught.
A coward who hides behind illusions.
There’s only one man I know and loathe who can split his consciousness and force himself into someone’s dream to terrorize them.
I tilt my head, a slow smirk pulling at my lips when Tiberius’s eyes widen in shock.
Has he ever met his match? Or has the king of Eldoris surrounded himself with so many incompetent assholes that he’s forgotten he’s not the most powerful being around? Not when he’s standing in front of me.
“You didn’t do your homework before coming here, did you? I grew up with scum like you,Tiberius. Your lousy, pathetic tricks won’t work on me.”
My Divine surges to life with my anger, shattering whatever weak barrier he tried to build in my mind. My eyes flare gold as my essence coils around us, ready to strike, but before I can tear him apart, he mutters something and vanishes from my grip.
“Scared of a girl, Tiberius?!” I shout into the darkness, laughter ripping out of me when he throws me out of his trance.
My vision tunnels, darkening at the edges, and then suddenly Angel is there, holding my face, shouting my name, trying to snap back to reality.
My hands come up to frame his face before sliding down to grip his arms, checking, needing to know everything is where it should be. The ringing in my ears fades, and his voice finally breaks through.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. Everyone’s okay. We’re safe. You can breathe now.” Angel keeps talking, keeping me anchored, like he’s afraid I’ll slip away again.
