Page 61 of Realm of Dreams & Shadows

His gaze darts away, as if he’s embarrassed to be praised for doing his duty.

“If Cora’s the only Bride left,” Tia says, “you must have a lot of time on your hands.”

A small smile touches his lips. “I do much more than preventing the King from claiming the Bride,” he says. “I track mares that breach the barriers. I protect humans. I train Dreamwalkers to defend themselves. I seek out corruption. And as the years pass, I will continue to make sure Adric never fulfills the prophecy.”

“Dreamwalkers are people like me who can cross into other realms, right?”

“There’s no one like you, Cora. But yes. Astral projection’s the closest concept if you’re trying to wrap your mind around it.”

“An out of body experience,” Tia says. “Like where your body stays in one place but your soul—or whatever you call it—travels off to Paris or wherever. Right?”

“Spot on,” he says.

“And I’m the Bride because I’m the last of some emperor’s line?”

“That’s right.”

“But I’m not the last of my line—there’s Uncle Finn.”

“He has no children,” Chase says. “If something happened to you, well, I imagine King Adric would do all he could to see your uncle’s family grow.”

“Oh.” I picture Finn trapped in some nightmare cell and forced to breed. But surely Chase is wrong. Surely the charming king I met wouldn’t do something so vile. I mean, a shotgun wedding is bad enough. Forced breeding…

I shudder. Then I draw a breath, reminding myself not to jump to conclusions. “You mentioned corruption,” I say. “What did you mean?”

He frowns, clearly not loving the shift in topic.

“Come on, Chase. I need to know all of it.”

“Yes,” he says softly. “You do.” He draws a breath. “Most Dreamwalkers work with me, doing things like stopping Vex. We work to shore up the barriers and keep the nightmare creatures within their own realm.”

He draws a breath. “But some Dreamwalkers abuse their power. They hurt people in this realm or manipulate them. Some have knowingly abandoned their duty. Some convince themselves it’s for the greater good.”

Tia raises a tentative hand. “How can Dreamwalkers hurt people here?”

Chase looks at me, and I hug myself, realizing I know the answer. “Kill someone in a dream, and they die for real,” I whisper. “Or you can plant an idea, and they wake believing it’s theirs. Like hypnosis. Am I right?”

Chase nods. “Exactly.”

Tia pulls her feet up and hugs her knees. “And the Nightmare Realm’s real too? Not just imagination? It’s like a place where horror movie characters live?”

“It’s real. And its barrier is now the thinnest in the dreamscape.”

“And Whistler?” I ask. “What’s his deal?”

“A friend. An ally. He coordinates intelligence. Hunts. He is a valuable lieutenant and like so many in the Realm of the Others, he understands the havoc that will be wreaked if the barriers fall.”

Tia leans in. “How many Hunters like you are there?”

“I’ve trained many from the Realms of the Unseen and the Others. Once, I trained a few from the Nightmare Realm, but they proved untrustworthy. And, of course, I train Hunters from this realm—the Realm of the Real.”

“Others like me,” I say. “Who really go somewhere in their dreams.”

“Again, there is no one like you, Cora. But, yes. There are many gifted humans who have the ability to travel between realms. Many, but not enough.”

“What do you mean?”

“The barriers weaken faster than we can fight. Mares manifesting fully here like Vex did tonight—well, that used to be rare. It’s becoming common.”