Page 74 of Sweet Nightmare

We watch my aunt walk away, then Eva turns to me and studies my face. “No bullshit,” she says. “We left here and I thought you were dying. Now there’s not a scratch on you. What gives?”

My stomach chooses that moment to rumble loudly. That granola bar is long gone.

Luis makes a face. “Fine, we’ll head back to the dorm. But I expect every detail on the way. So start talking. Now.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

THIS IS HOW

WE UN-ROLL

I don’t know how much I’m supposed to say about what Jude did—or even about the tattoos that he keeps hidden from everyone—so I try to keep it as vague as I can.

Neither Eva nor Luis appreciates that, though, so I try distraction and finally ask, “What do you guys know about oneiroi?”

“Not much.” She shoots me a knowing look. “What happened to hating Jude and hoping he’d choke on a kumquat?”

“I—we— It’s…” I give up when they both start laughing.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“It’s been a very weird day,” I tell her.

“Oh, please.” Luis waves a dismissive hand. “This day left weird in its rearview hours ago.”

“True, but you don’t even know what else has happened.”

His eyes go wide. “There’s more?”

“Waaaaaay more,” I answer. And then I tell them everything that’s happened since Ember burst into flames in the hallway, which feels like days ago.

Their eyes get bigger by the second. But when I get to the root cellar and how one of the Jean-Jerks, and maybe even Jude, literally disappeared once they went inside, Eva loops her arm through mine and starts dragging me toward the other side of the island. “You have to show me this place.”

“She has to show us this place,” Luis corrects.

“Now?” My stomach grumbles in protest. “But I’m starving.”

Eva rolls her eyes and fishes in her purse for her emergency pack of M&M’s. “Eat these. Because you are definitely taking us there right now. What if the hurricane floods it while we’re evacuated?”

“Then I’m pretty sure no one else will be disappearing inside it anytime soon.”

“Seriously, Clementine?” she huffs. “I swear, you have no sense of adventure.”

“I do, but I’ve had too much adventure today.” But I open the bag of candy and stop protesting. The truth is I’ve been dying for another look at the place myself. Just to see if I missed something. Because I had to, right? Even fae don’t just disappear into thin air—especially when they don’t have their powers.

Besides, Eva’s right. What if the storm does flood it? It didn’t exactly look like it was in the best shape to begin with.

When I say as much, Luis’s eyes go wide. “How bad a shape are we talking? Because I haven’t had a tetanus shot in a while—”

“You’re a wolf,” Eva huffs in exasperation. “Can you even get tetanus?”

“I’m a human, too,” he says with a sniff. “And humans can definitely get it. By the way, when was your last tetanus shot?”

“Worry about your own damn shots and leave mine alone,” she shoots back. “For all I know, you could be overdue on rabies, too. You’re definitely overdue on distemper.”

“I’m pretty sure distemper doesn’t mean what you think it does,” Luis tells her.

“Yeah, well—”

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