Page 102 of Realm of Dreams & Shadows

To his credit, he laughs. “True. And again I say, that doesn’t make me wrong.” He meets my eyes. “My brother’s an idealist too—and that’s the problem. If you turn the pages of history, time and again you’ll see that idealists often end up standing in the charred ruins of their dreams, surrounded by the corpses of those they’ve destroyed.”

“Game of Thrones is hardly history,” I mutter.

He doesn’t answer. He doesn’t have to. He’s made his point and he knows it.

For that matter, he may even be right. I’ve never been the best student—hard to nail good grades when you fall asleep in class regularly—but I’ve read enough to know that some of Earth’s darkest periods came when someone was dead-on sure they knew the path and burned everything down to prove it.

But burning the world down? Torturing Chase? I can’t wrap my head around it.

“I know my brother better than you do,” he says, as if reading my mind.

I nod but can’t help but wonder. Because the Adric Chase knew had been a physical part of him ages and ages ago. Now, Adric is the Nightmare King. And I have no idea if Chase really knows that Adric at all.

For that matter, do I? Or have I only seen what he wants me to see?

“You’re thinking too hard,” he whispers, then kisses me again, slow and grounding. He pulls me back down to the bed with him, and I melt into him, letting the warmth of his body anchor me as sleep creeps up on me. And as I do, I realize this is the first time in longer than I can remember that I’m not afraid of what I’ll find in my dreams. Because I’ve already found everything I need right here, in the arms of the man who’s been guarding my sleep for years.

Chapter

Twenty-Six

Iwake up, expecting to find Chase beside me, but the space is empty, and I push myself up onto my elbows as I peer out into the dark.

“Chase?”

No answer—only the soft hush of waves. I frown. Something’s off. I sit up, then realize the problem—his apartment doesn’t open onto the ocean.

Weird.

I slide out of bed, intending to close the windows, but the moment my feet touch the hardwood floors, the room evaporates, leaving only the bed on a stretch of wet sand, the rumpled sheets glowing silver in the moonlight.

The surf rolls in, tickling my toes as I breathe in the salt-kissed air.

Once more into the breach, my friends.

This time, at least, I’m not terrified. Scared, yes. But most of the terror I’ve felt in the Nightmare Realm came from not understanding. Now, at least, I’m getting a clue.

Doesn’t mean I’m looking forward to a fight, though.

“Chase?” I whisper his name, then look up, half-expecting him to swoop down on his dragon.

I’ve been turning in a circle, searching out familiar landmarks, but there’s nothing specific. I glance around, seeing nothing I recognize. Just the generic spread of sand, and the thrumming waves of the ocean rolling in.

The Nightmare Realm.

Once again, I call out for Chase, but the only answer I receive is the sharp hiss of the wind.

With a soft curse, I turn my back to the water and look out over the expanse of the beach. As I do, I see the packed sand begin to shudder, lumps rising from the ground to form into the familiar, creepy sand monsters that have haunted my dreams.

I tense, thrusting my hand into the air above me, then yanking down hard, relieved to feel the comforting heft of a dagger in my hand.

That’s new, I think, then I hold my blade at the ready, my mind plotting an escape route as I wait for sand creatures to attack.

They don’t. Instead, they arrange themselves in two rows, leaving a corridor of dark sand between them. My breath hitches as I realize what this is—an honor guard.

“Chase,” I whisper, but the night swallows his name. He isn’t here.

I wait for fear to wash over me. But it’s Adric’s soft voice that caresses my skin. “Come, my love.”