Page 86 of Avalon Tower

Where are you, little dreamers? Where are you hiding?

His voice is velvety smooth, but a sharp fury slides beneath it. I can feel his wrath as he holds us captive.

I will drown you, and you’ll wish you were dead, but you’ll keep drowning, unable to breathe, water filling your lungs. In dreams, death cannot save you.

I cling to his thoughts, ignoring the terror filling my heart at the thought of that eternal hell. There must be a way out.

Ah, it’s you again, isn’t it? The little telepath in my thoughts. I can feel you. I may not have seen you, but I felt you. I can let you out of this. You only need to tell me where you are.

Fear vibrates through me. I clench my teeth and try to calm my mind. He can’t read my thoughts, but he can feel my subconscious. And my subconscious is terrified.

Now, where are you and your friends hiding, little telepath? If you show me, I’ll let you wake up. It’ll save us all time…and you a lot of pain. Trust me, you don’t want to be in this nightmare much longer. I can make it exquisitely painful for you.

The boat groans and shudders, and then splits at the center. I plunge into the sea and sink beneath the water. I kick my legs to rise to the surface, floundering wildly as a wave crashes on top of me. Frantic, I fight my way to the surface again, gasping for air. It’s nearly impossible to focus on the prince’s thoughts. The water is icy, and my muscles are seizing up.

There’s no way out, little telepath. I am in complete control of you—your body and your mind. I have the power to kill you or let you live. Submit to me.

Another hard wave pushes me under. I know the truth. If Talan finds us, the only thing next on my schedule is being slowly tortured to death.

I try to hold my breath, but I’m too late. My mouth fills with water. Water in my throat, in my lungs. I can’t breathe, darkness is all around me, and the bone-penetrating cold. And I know that the prince is speaking the truth. Only he can free me from this nightmare, and he won’t. Not until he finds where we’re hiding.

In my terror and desperation, I draw on my powers again, trying to read deeper into his thoughts. But I can’t focus. Instead of summoning the violet magic, I accidentally draw on my Sentinel powers, too.

My lungs burn as red and violet magic entwine, a tangle I can’t unwind. A twisted magical hybrid that shouldn’t exist, telepathy that shatters and breaks things. I aim that raw energy at the prince’s mind and let it erupt.

I can feel his surprise as the surge of power hits him. I manage to snap something inside his mind, and he reels back in pain, breaking contact. The darkness around me flickers, and I gasp and open my eyes.

I’m in the room in the Château des Rêves, lying on the floor. Raphael, Viviane, and Freya are all lying on the stones. Their eyes fly open, Freya gasps as if still searching for air, and Viviane’s hands jerk as though she’s still trying to swim. And then they all freeze.

Viviane is the first to lift herself up. She looks around, her face as pale as milk. “We’re back?”

My teeth are chattering, and the cold stings my skin. My fingers are numb.

“We never left,” I say. “It was all a nightmare, including the moment we thought we got away and the boat.”

“And now?” Raphael asks grimly.

I clear my throat. “I think I got us out of the nightmare.”

His eyebrows flick up. “You got us out? How—”

Shivering wildly, I force myself to stand. “I’ll explain later. We don’t have much time. They’re searching for us. The Dream Stalker knows we’re still here. It’s only a matter of time before he recovers and traps us again.”

Freya glances at the door. “Won’t he send his guards after us?”

I think about the flash of pain and surprise I felt when I let my powers explode in the prince’s psyche and cracked something in his mind. “I bought us some time. But we have to leave. Now.”

Two months ago, they would have argued. Viviane would have asked who the fuck I thought I was. Freya would have subtly rolled her eyes. But they follow my suggestion without discussion. In the past few months at Avalon Tower, I’ve managed to earn their trust.

When we leave the room this time, we head straight for the door. This time, the rug doesn’t suck me in.

At last, we’re outside, and the night air stings my skin. I know it’s not arctic, but it feels that way.

Does anyone else know yet that the prince was hit with a magical attack? Is he sending people after us? I hope to gods not. I can’t imagine what the prince’s vengeance might be like.

I glance back at the castle but don’t see any signs of alarm. I breathe in the cool, salty air and long for the comfort of the fur coat.

Raphael sees me shivering and wraps his arm around me as we hurry down the stairs.