Page 86 of A Deal with the Shadow King

I do not want my soul to leave my body and err to the Dreaming, but, as my training with Two taught me, the sleeping mind does whatever the hell it wants, and before I know it, I’m standing in the middle of a golden corn field in my yellow country dress.

A red and black checkered picnic blanket lays in the middle of the small clearing behind the summer house, the sun low on the horizon. A bushel of grapes and the neck of a champagne bottle stick out of a wicker basket at my feet.

What the crops?

One stands on the opposite side of the blanket, studying the scene.

“What are you doing here?” I ask. Ever since One carried me to bed during Foghar, I haven’t caught a glance of him. I watch for his reaction, trying to discern if he’s truly here or not.

“I came to visit you. Are you expecting somebody?” he makes a casual gesture toward the picnic, and I hold back a nervous laugh.

Am I expecting company in a dream? I glance down at the wine and fruits. “I don’t know. You’re the expert. Are you really here, or am I only dreaming of you?”

“Let’s find out.” He leans in, taking me completely by surprise, and kisses me softly on the lips.

The simple way he reaches out for me—like it’s normal—makes my heart swell, and I stand on the tip of my toes.

He presses his forehead to mine, not deepening the kiss but giving me time to take it all in instead. “Did that feel real enough to you?”

“Yes,” I answer without a trace of self-consciousness. He lies down on the blanket and pats the empty space next to him, but I hesitate. “What’s happening? Where did you disappear to after Foghar?”

He shifts to his side, his elbow propped beneath him. “I had business to take care of in the new world.”

“Did it have anything to do with Mara?”

He chuckles a little too warmly in response, and my eyes narrow. It feels too real to be a dream, and yet…

That’s not One.

Without giving him time to react, I kneel down next to him and peel off his black and white mask.

His irises gleam in the sun—a twist of gold and silver—and I wonder if he’s incapable of faking One’s eyes, or if he’s simply forgotten what they look like.

I offer the impostor a wry smile. “Hello, Two.”

A wicked grin transforms his face, betraying his true identity. “Well played.” He glances around the gardens. “I was curious to see what you dreamed about, princess. I was right to believe you didn’t crave holy matrimony with your vapid duke.”

“This doesn’t mean?—”

“It means everything.” With an evil wink, Two drapes himself over me and pins me down to the ground with his weight, holding my wrists above my head. “But you can’t have One.”

Eyes closed in a mix of confusion and shame, I squirm under his hold, trying to break free, but my treacherous body warms in response to his.

“I heard you the other day, and I don’t care what you think. I don’t belong to the king,” I growl.

A maniacal laugh quakes his chest like this is all a big joke, and he drags his nose along the curve of my neck. “You crack me up, Old World.”

I force a lump down my throat. In spite of it all, I’m still caught in the haze of the illusion, and my mind drifts back to the similar way One pinned me to my bed. Their bodies and mannerism are even more similar in the Dreaming, but I hate myself for the heat plaguing my belly and the desire coursing through my veins. “What did you do to Mara after Three slept with her?”

Two leans closer, his hot breath caressing my collarbone. “Mara played her part. Are you ready to play yours?”

In a blink, the blue sky darkens into night, the golden scenery suddenly bathed in moonlight like the colors were suddenly painted over by a shadow.

A raven crows overhead, and a chilly wind blows past my ankles as One ripples out of the darkness. His informal clothes—jeans and a black shirt—are the same as the ones he wore the last time I saw him, when he caught me snooping.

“Leave her alone,” he snarls at his brother.

He’s technically the nightmare, crashing a dream, yet he’s everything but. He looks fierce, perched on the balls of his feet, ready to fight his brother off me. And hopefully take his place.

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