Page 56 of The Cursed Fae

Awesome. Just when I was ready to tackle my problems like an adult, my family ignored me.

In need of a distraction, I flopped down on my bed, opened one of the library books, and continued reading where I'd left off earlier. I had barely cracked open Wars of the Fae when exhaustion made my eyelids heavy. The words swam on the page, swirling together until the black text blended with the white background and created a gray haze that pulled me under. Too many nights of little sleep finally caught up with me.

Screams filled my ears, and I was fairly certain they were my own. Heat exploded like a firework in my midsection. I looked down and saw a dagger protruding from my stomach. My hands were covered in fresh blood and wrapped around the hilt. A wolf's howl gave me hope, though I didn't know why. I screamed her name as she landed on all fours in front of me, her teeth bared at the horde of crimson eyes converging on us.

I woke with a start and bolted upright. My heart pounded so hard in my chest that I thought a rib might crack under the pressure. The pain in my stomach subsided, though I still expected to see blood when I looked down. Thankfully, only sweat soaked my shirt.

Tina stood in the doorway to our room. Her top lip curled back, an expression that was half amused and half alarmed on her face.

“Who's Zosia?” she asked pointedly.

I stared at her blankly. “Who?”

Tina's eyes narrowed on the book across my lap, a frown on her pink painted lips. “You were screaming the name. I could hear you from the end of the hallway. Who is Zosia?”

“Just a nightmare,” I muttered, waving my hand dismissively.

Despite my words, it felt too real to be a nightmare. The scene was more like a memory than a dream. But that was silly and impossible. I'd never held a dagger in my life. Until coming to Arcane Landing, I'd also never encountered a shifter. At least, not that I knew of.

The biggest question of all lingered in my mind: who the hell was Zosia?

The more I rolled the name around in my head, the calmer I felt. It comforted me in a way I didn't understand. How was that possible when I swore I'd never heard the name before it left my lips?

Chapter nineteen

Your Nose is Growing

Zosia. Zosia. Zo-o-o-sia.

The name rolled around in my head like an irksome pebble, keeping me up all night as I tried to recall every detail of the dream that had inspired it. There was a wolf. And a dagger. And a whole lot of blood. Was the dream symbolic? What did the dagger represent? Betrayal? What about the wolf?

After dinner, I went straight to the astrology tower with my library books. I should've taken my class textbooks, but I was totally not in the headspace for schoolwork. Archer and I hadn't set a specific time, so it didn't surprise me to find the room empty when I arrived. I settled into a hammock and called Nana and Mom again—neither answered.

I had just fired off a text to Lena when I heard his voice.

“Am I late?”

I held up Wars of the Fae. “Thought I'd get in some light reading before you got here.”

He grabbed the edge of the hammock and rocked the swinging contraption back and forth. “Yeah? How's that going?”

I rolled onto my side. “Slow. I'm ready to practice with my dimensional magic.”

Archer pursed his lips to hide a bemused smile. “Woah there, Sable. Let's not get carried away. You gotta crawl before you can run, you know what I mean?”

“That's a stupid saying,” I grumbled.

“Scoot over.” He shooed me aside, and I did my best to make room for him in the hammock. Archer stretched out beside me, linking his fingers behind his head like a pillow and elbowing my ear in the process.

“Owww.”

“Sorry.” Archer grinned sheepishly, and I realized just how close we were. “Dimensional magic isn't like other magic. You really need to understand it before you can appreciate it. And you definitely need to appreciate it before you use it.”

I rolled my eyes. “You sound like my nana.”

“Your nana is a smart lady.” Archer propped himself up on his offending elbow and peered down at me. “When we open a portal, we're creating a small tear in the fabric of space.”

“You already told me that,” I interjected.

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