Malicine stared at Amelia with a degree of skepticism, but she could tell they were considering her words. The demon crossed a wide path in the forest, brows still furrowed in contemplation. They collected twigs and connected each stick in the shape of a circle while their eyes glazed over in thought. Nails scraped across the wood like a match before fire burst to life, spreading across the arrangement in the middle of the forest.
“Fine. Let’s try it, then. And if it doesn’t work, your life will be an early sacrifice for wasting my time.”
Flames gleamed in Malicine’s eyes as they looked at Amelia, a silent challenge. Amelia accepted it as she walked inside the circle.
Malicine stepped forward next. The two stared at each other, flames flickering over their faces. An unspoken knowledge hung between them, that in this hidden space, they would repeat history, even if they had no idea the truth of what was on the other side.
“Why do you want to go there so desperately?” Malicine asked. The contempt in their narrowed eyes fell like a cracked mask, revealing a glint of curiosity in their green irises.
“I want to know if there’s more to live for,” Amelia said.
Malicine considered Amelia’s answer. “I suppose I’m the same.”
She watched Malicine straighten their posture and turn back to the circle of fire. They faced both palms outward, casting a spell. The flames blurred before changing to the color of sea waves. Energy pulsed in the air like electric current. The trees glowed under the light, and pure white washed over the leaves.
Amelia could feel everything beginning to change. The color of the trees, the demon by her side. Malicine slashed their palm and spilled the circle with blood. In their eyes, Amelia recognized determination. While Malicine had cursed her to fall asleep, she’d brought something inside the demon to wake in return.
Amelia extended her palm to Malicine to cut open. The pain was sharp but small, a passing blink. Blood dripped down her hand, laced in gold and glinting under the flames. The forest lit aglow, as if sensing their energy.
The first drop hit the ground. Amelia could no longer feel the weight of herself as they fell below.
CHAPTER 23
CORIN ATTEMPTED TO swim back to Summerland, but the currents had pulled her too far. Her strength had already waned when a large shadow cast from the sky. Malicine’s wings flapped rapidly as they dove toward Corin to retrieve her. It was hardly a rescue mission, since they were quick to release Corin mid-air by the time they reached the shore. The force rolled her body across the sand until her chest slammed into a rock. She reeled over and heaved water. Several pearls had clogged her throat and spewed into the sand. It wasn’t until her retching subsided that Malicine towered over her.
“What is wrong with you?” they snapped. “I told you to get out!”
Corin looked back at the ocean. Beyond the horizon, an island loomed as a speck of gray, like a blot of ink that stained a ruined canvas. The faraway land had crept onto her without her even noticing. By the time she did, the clouds had unfurled like rotting flowers, and the bottom of the ocean had pulled her to drown. Strands of kelp had wrapped around her ankles, wrists, thighs, almost as if the island’s fingers were tightening around her, claiming her for its depths.
How had it been possible that she didn’t notice the island until now?
Elly’s voice brought Corin back to shore. Her small figure darted across the sand, followed by Briar, who had reverted to normal in her pristine dress and sun-kissed skin. As if she hadn’t been caught in the tides, wrecked with despair in her truest form, mere moments ago.
Elly leapt into Corin’s arms and squeezed her tight. “I thought I lost you,” she sobbed.
Corin buried her face into Elly’s hair, welcoming the smell of salt instead of death, her warm skin instead of the corpses Corin had seen below. The steady drum of Elly’s pulse reminded Corin they were both alive and safe. “I could say the same to you,” her voice muffled in Elly’s hair.
Malicine continued stewing in irritation while they healed Corin’s wounds. Corin tested their patience anyway.
“What the hell was that island?” she demanded.
“A place I separated from the rest of the dreamworld,” they growled. “Get close to Autumnland, and the island will drag you down into its abyss.”
“I don’t understand. You were the one who created this world. I thought this was supposed to be a perfect paradise for—”
“Just because it’s a dream doesn’t mean it can’t turn into a nightmare,” they said. “Imagine every skeleton you’ve kept locked in your closet. Autumnland is where they stay. And if you visit them, they will kill you.”
“You mean I’ll wake up,” Corin said with wariness, as if this were a test.
“No. Amelia may be the one sleeping, but our bodies crossed from the physical world to the dreamworld when we entered. Which means if you die here, you will cease to exist at all.”
The words raised goose bumps to the back of Corin’s neck. She imagined turning into nothing, as if she’d never been real to begin with. As if she’d never even mattered.
She glanced at Briar, whose skin slowly filled with color again. The princess ran her hands over her arms, rubbing them for warmth and hiding the prickles of flesh that Corin had seen stained with blood. The strange visions in the dark depths of the ocean revealed something real. Perhaps it was the only real thing Corin had witnessed throughout the dreamworld.
I see you, Amelia.
“We should continue our journey,” Briar murmured. “There’s no need to revisit the currents again.”
