Page 92 of Realm of Dreams & Shadows

He cups the back of my neck, sending jolts of recognition twining through me. Not the sizzle I feel with Chase, but something warm and inevitable, like silk and shadow wrapping around my soul.

“Together, we can bring back that paradise.”

It sounds lovely—both logical and transcendent. And yet I hesitate. Because if Adric is right, then Chase is wrong. And how can I possibly know who to believe?

I can’t. Not yet. Not until I truly understand what’s truth—and what’s manipulation.

“I’m not asking you to trust blind promises.” His hand cups my cheek, once again making me aware of the need that now flows through my veins. “You’ve seen the truth, Cora. At least let me know that you understand what I’ve accomplished.”

“I do,” I whisper.

Something shifts in his expression—just for a moment, as if he expected resistance and got honesty instead, and isn’t quite sure what to do with it. The king flickers, and the man underneath peeks through.

“You love this place,” he says. Not a question.

I look around at the endless shelves, the floating golden orbs, the volumes that seem to breathe with knowledge. “I’d have to be dead not to.”

“Careful with that word in this realm.” But he’s smiling—a real smile, not the devastating weapon he usually deploys. “I built this library over centuries. Every book from every realm. I’ve read most of them.”

“Most?”

“There are a lot of shelves, Cora.”

I almost laugh. Almost. “Which ones haven’t you read?”

He tilts his head, considering. “There’s an entire wing of romantic poetry from the Realm of the Others. Excruciatingly earnest. I made it through two volumes before I wanted to throw myself from the highest tower.”

I do laugh then—a real one that surprises us both. “That bad?”

“Imagine love sonnets written by creatures like Whistler who live for a thousand years. They are very thorough.” He pauses, something warm and unguarded in his eyes. “Although I suppose I’m not one to judge. I’ve been alive long enough to qualify as excruciating myself.”

“You’re not excruciating,” I say, and immediately wish I could stuff the words back in my mouth.

His smile turns softer. Not smug—just pleased. As if a compliment from me means something different than the deference he gets from everyone else.

The moment hangs there, fragile and strange.

Then Adric straightens, and I know the king has returned.

“When the barriers fall, you will rule beside me.” He steps closer, then traces the pad of his thumb over my cheekbone with devastating gentleness. “Not as some conquered Bride, but as my equal, and together, we will unify the realms, remaking the world as it was meant to be.”

I should step back. Should remember Chase’s warnings. But unless Adric is manufacturing one giant delusion, the evidence is right here in front of me—realms that flourish under Adric’s rule. Beings who seem genuinely content in all of his realms, with only the Realm of the Real left to struggle and strive.

“Every time,” he continues, leaning closer. “Every Bride has been drawn to my side. Not because of magic or destiny, but because—like you—she recognizes truth. The potential for what we can build together. You see it too,” he says. “Don’t deny me. Don’t push away what you know. Don’t let the Hunter render to dust what you now understand.”

He holds out a hand, reaching for me. “Stay with me, my love. Be my queen.”

I take his hand and lose myself in those silver eyes. “It’s no trick,” he says, apparently reading my mind. “You have only to ask and I will show you my realms. Not in dreams, but in reality. You will see for yourself what we’ve accomplished. And then you will rule at my side.”

“Adric.”

His name on my lips seems to send a shiver through him. “Say yes,” he murmurs, his lips so close I feel his breath on mine. “Stop fighting what your heart knows to be true.”

Everything in me wants to lean into him, to close that final distance and lose myself in his promise. In his kiss. He’s not the monster Chase painted, not at all.

His thumb traces my lower lip, and heat blooms low in my belly, an ache that feels both foreign and inevitable. I think of the way Chase kissed me earlier, and I tell myself I should step back. Should remember not only Chase, but his every warning against this charismatic man who—yes—truly entices me.

I need to turn away. I need to leave.