Page 67 of Realm of Dreams & Shadows

“I will leave you all to it,” Griffin says as he crosses the room. “Cora, you’ll do fine. And I promise you’re safer here than anywhere else in this realm.”

He offers one quick smile before disappearing up the stairs. I hear the door close with a soft click, leaving Chase, Tia, Whistler, and me alone in the mirror-lined room. The candlelight dances across the glass surfaces, creating an almost hypnotic effect, and when Chase’s eyes meet mine, I’m pretty sure I’m going to melt right then.

Tia sidles closer and whispers in my ear, “Get your head in the game, girlfriend.”

Heat floods my cheeks, especially when I catch Chase’s lips twitching. But he’s seemingly all business when he says, “We start with basic awareness exercises. You’ll be learning to recognize when you’re dreaming, how to maintain consciousness during the transition, and how to exert control over the dream environment.”

“Like lucid dreaming?” Tia asks, dropping down to sit cross-legged on the floor near me.

“Not really. Someone in a lucid dream is still operating within the confines of their own subconscious. Cora’s about to learn how to navigate an actual alternate realm with its own rules and inhabitants. Her body stays here. The rest moves out of her body and into another realm entirely.”

“Oh.” I try to wrap my head around that but mostly fail. This is Big Scary Shit, and the little girl inside me wants to duck under the covers and hide.

But I can’t.

There are things in both this realm and the Nightmare Realm that are trying to kill me or destroy the barriers or both. I have to know how to fight back. Otherwise, the rest of my life will be spent running from sand monsters and dragons.

Not only that, but it will be a really short life.

“Why can’t I do this?” Tia asks, her question pulling me from my circling thoughts.

“The ability to dreamwalk is actually quite rare,” Chase says. “Even if you were able, the magical binding would prevent it. But you’re the one keeping Cora grounded as she learns. Eventually, she’ll move between realms on her own—even move her body between realms as I do—but until she can do that seamlessly, you’re here to help her not only get into the different realms but find her way back. It’s a job that requires the utmost trust.”

She sits up straighter, squeezes my hand, then nods.

“You both need to understand that dreamwalking is not without its dangers. Walkers have gotten lost, never to return. Some die in their sleep. Some are treated as if they were in a medical coma, their bodies here, but their consciousness in another realm.”

“But you’re sure I can do this?” I ask, my earlier confidence wavering as I once again think about my mother.

Chase moves closer, those eyes intense in the candlelight. “You’re stronger than you know, Cora.” He kneels in front of me, then gently takes my hands. I stifle a sigh, fighting the urge to lean against him. To let him wrap his arms around me and hold me safe and tight.

“I’ve watched you fight for years. Trust me,” he says. “You can do this. You already have. What you’re learning now is control.”

“You’ve been risking yourself for me this whole time,” I whisper, almost unable to believe all the things this man has done to protect me. “All those monsters.”

“It’s my job,” he says, and though the air between us is heavy and charged, he doesn’t quite meet my eyes.

“Chase,” I breathe.

“Shh,” he murmurs, his hand cupping my neck, his palm warm and soothing. “There are things you need to know. I haven’t—” He cuts himself off with a shake of his head. “Never mind,” he says, running a strand of my hair through his fingers. “Not now.”

I start to press him, but before I can, the door opens with a sharp click, and we spring apart like guilty teenagers as Tia bursts into giggles.

Which isn’t at all embarrassing.

Whistler enters carrying a leather case, his onyx eyes taking in the scene with amusement. As for me, I hadn’t even realized he’d stepped out. So much for keeping my observational skills sharp.

“Am I interrupting something?” he asks mildly.

“Not a thing,” Chase says easily, his professional mask sliding back into place. “We were just beginning the awareness exercises.”

“Of course you were.”

I catch Tia’s eye and see her trying to suppress a grin. I grimace, my cheeks burning from embarrassment. And, yes, from a delicious lingering heat.

I force myself to sit up straighter. I can figure out my feelings later. Now, I need to learn how to survive.

“At its core,” Chase says, now standing by all the equipment, “dreamwalking is about maintaining awareness while moving between states of consciousness. You already do that, so what we’re going to be working on is increasing your control.”