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“He condemned her to eternal sleep.”

Calla inhales sharply.

“Just for overhearing something?”

“She knew enough to expose him.”

“That’s monstrous.”

“Yes.”

I look toward the rain-streaked window.

“I was ordered to enter her dreams and ensure she never awakened.”

Calla’s hand goes still.

“Did you?”

“No.”

The word comes out harder than intended.

I turn toward her.

“I entered her dreams. I saw what my father had done. She was trapped inside a nightmare that repeated endlessly. Every time she tried to escape, the dream began again.”

“That’s awful.”

“She begged me to help her.”

Calla watches me.

“And you did.”

“I tried.”

I swallow.

“I broke the boundaries of her prison. I carried her consciousness toward the waking world. For one glorious moment, I believed we would succeed.”

“What happened?”

“My father found us.”

The memory returns with brutal clarity.

The black waters of the Realm of Sleep.

The sound of Hypnos calling my name.

The terrible moment I realized the god who had given me life intended to take everything from me.

“He demanded I return her to the nightmare. I refused.”

Calla’s eyes shine.

“So he cursed you.”