Iwandered through the forest, breathing in the fresh scent of mist. It felt like I’d been walking this place for hours, and there was no end to it. Not that I minded. It felt like Kalen here, and for that, I was grateful. There was something dark weighing on my mind, though I struggled to piece together what it was. All I knew was a heavy sense of dread. Being here in the dream forest, even without Kalen, soothed that pain.
The hours seemed to float by.
I looked up and saw I’d finally reached the field beyond the forest. The waist-high grass swayed, and the distant call of birds filled the air with song. Smiling, I sat amongst the grass and spread out on the ground, staring up at the stars. This place felt safe. It felt like home.
I’d always dreamed of a better world. And this was it. There was no war here, no cruelty, no bloodshed.
Just…peace.
“Tessa.” Kalen’s voice cut through the silence. I sat upright. He sounded like he was in a great deal of pain.
I looked around, trying to find him. A flash of shadow caught my eye. There he was, clad in his black leathers and writhing with mist. He strode through the grass, heading in the direction of the forest. His back was more tense than I’d ever seen it. As he walked, he pumped his hands by his side. They were shaking.
Something was wrong.
I climbed to my feet. “Kalen?”
He stopped. Then he heaved out a breath. Slowly, he took one step, then another, turning toward me as if he was too afraid to see my face. I started trembling myself, not understanding. What was going on? Why did he seem on edge? Had we lost someone? Had the…had the gods won?
He finally faced me. His sapphire gaze raked across me, and he shuddered. “You’re here. My love, come to me.”
The desperation in his voice drove me forward. He stumbled toward me, his face screwed up in horrible pain. I ran, picking up my pace. When I reached him, his body slammed into mine. He gripped me against him, his mouth against my hair. His body shook like thunder. He loosed choking breaths, and the power of him whorled and crashed against me. Shadow and mist surrounded us in a furious storm.
When he pulled back, he palmed my cheek, my hair, my shoulder. He looked at me like he hadn’t seen me in years. “You’re all right. You’re here. My love, you’re here.”
“What’s going on, Kalen?” I asked, my voice cracking.
“You…” He shook his head. “Andromeda tried to kill you.”
At the sound of her name, it all came flooding back. The storm, the fight, the nail across my neck. The pain and darkness that had consumed me until there was nothing left but this.
I shuddered. “Is Nellie all right? Did Andromeda take—”
“Nellie is fine,” he said roughly. “It was…it was you, Tessa. You’re the one she hurt. You were gone from us, but Nellie managed to bring you back. I thought I’d lost you.”
I swallowed. “You’re saying I’m dead?”
“Youweredead. Nellie brought you back.”
I needed to sit, but there was nowhere to go but the ground. Instead, I reached or Kalen. He wrapped his arms around me, and I found what comfort I could in the feel of him, firm and steady and strong. My vision swam as the realization thundered around me.
I died.
My life had ended. Oblivion would have taken me, but…
“How?” I whispered. “Nellie doesn’t have the power of Andromeda.”
“It turns out she does. She just needed to be motivated enough to find it.”
“Is she all right?” I asked again.
“Tessa, love.” Kalen pulled back to gaze down at me with a fondness that rattled my soul. “You keep asking about your sister when you need to focus on yourself. Nellie is alive. We’re all fine. But we need you. You have to find a way to bring yourself back.”
“What?” I didn’t understand. “You said she healed me.”
“She healed you enough to get you breathing, but you’re not waking up. I need you to come back to yourself. I need you to open your eyes.”
I looked around at the dream, understanding now why it felt as if I’d been walking in it forever. My mind was lost here. And when I thought about walking away from it, a deep-seated pain lanced through my heart. It was all just too much. I had fought so hard, and I had died because of it. The world had taken absolutely everything from me.
