Page 78 of A Shadow of Betrayal

“Valen,” Meyer whispers, looking up at me, her brows knitting together. “What's wrong?”

“I need you to set me free, but only you can. There isn't another Dream Walker in the human realm Meyer, and the Seniorem used my blood as a key to my prison. You'll have to use your own to release me when you get there.”

“How?” she asks, looking slightly pale at the thought. I don’t blame her. I’m asking a lot of Mi Sol, and I can only hope she will feel the need to help me the way I do her.

“It shouldn't take much. I’m not sure. I haven't seen…” I trail off and curse, letting go of her and turning away, shaking my head. Each idea I come up with has an equal chance of her being caught or worse. “I’ve changed my mind,” I mutter, hating myself, knowing what I’m about to say will kill me, but it has to be done. Turning back around, I grab Meyer by the arms and stare into her eyes. Memorizing every feature. “I need you to run, Meyer. Leave tonight. Go.” I snap, my body going cold with my words as she stares at me in shock.

“What? No! Valen, why?”

“It’s not safe. You don’t understand. You need to leave. Hide from the Seniorem. Do not trust a single one of them. Not your Senior. Not the friends you made. Not a single soul in that Castle is to be trusted. They will only use you,” I rasp out, desperation leaking from me as she stares at me with wide, confused eyes. “The enemy that you have been told is not what you think, Mi Sol,” I whisper, caressing her face with my fingers.

“I can’t leave, Valen,” she whispers, her hands twisting in front of her as she studies me. “The Seniorem will hunt me down, and I have…” she trails off, looking over my shoulder. “A friend.” she finally answers. “Besides, the Seniorem will only hurt you. I’ve seen what they have done to the humans!” I place my finger over her lips and nod.

“You will leave, Meyer,” I practically growl, startling her as I hold onto her tighter. I know my grip is so tight that it hurts her when she winces, but I can’t stop. I fight against myself as I call on her magic, pulling what little of mine I have tried to protect to use for an escape. She’s more important. “You will leave immediately. You will not talk to anyone. Your friends are not what you think! Please trust me. I know that’s so much to ask, but believe me when I say I only want you to be safe,” I rasp. “Run. Hide,” I clip out the words. “Stay in the human world and never let them catch you, Regina. There is a house, one by the Rift in Europe. Once you are near it, it will be easy for you to find. Use your blood, it's the key,” I rush out, moving my hands to hers and squeezing them. “Take the weapons you have and live a happy life for me, alright? The house is warded against everyone that is not a Dream Walker and my family. You’ll be safe there.” I smile at her, my hands trembling as I let my thumbs move over her soft skin under them.

“Why does it sound like you're saying goodbye?” she asks, trying to pull away, but I don't let her. Instead, I let my eyes run over her beautiful face once more before I shove her from her dream scape, using every ounce of strength I have left, letting the magic burn in me as it flows into her.

A scream of pain tears from my throat as her eyes widen in shock before the snowy plain of her dreamscape disappears from view, and I’m left floating in the neverending darkness of my life.

“Goodbye, Meyer.”

FORTY

Meyer

I startle awake with a gasp, sitting upright and then groaning, my head spinning as bile rushes up my throat. I clamp a hand over my mouth and swing my legs off the blue couch Razar threw me on. Standing up, intending to run out of this office, I take a step forward only to have my knees buckle, and I crash to the ground, clipping my temple on the corner of Lennox’s desk as I go.

“Oh, shit!” I cry out, moving my hand from my mouth to my head as the room swims around me, the pain in my head instantly doubling from a dull throb to a sharp pain as something warm trickles down from my temple.

“Dammit,” I grumble, clenching my eyes shut before I sigh and stand to my feet, blinking against the pain in my head. I look around Lennox’s office, fear and confusion battling within me as I try to figure out what I should do. Valen scared me; I'm not going to lie. I honestly believe he wants me to be safe. He is willing to stay behind so that I don't get hurt… but he said I can't trust anyone, that my friends aren't what they seem.

Groaning, I narrow my eyes on the Kalis sitting atop Lennox’s desk and pat my side, realizing it’s my blade. It must have fallen when Razar dragged me back in here, and they set it there. Leaning over the desk, I grab my Kalis and straighten back up just as a drop of blood falls from my temple, landing on the wooden box sitting in the corner of Lennox’s desk.

“Shit,” I mutter, moving to wipe the blood away but stopping; my fingers inches away as a weird clicking sound fills the room, and the box pops open. “Oookay… Creepy haunted boxes can now be added to my list of new weird things that happen in my life,” I whisper to myself, my fingers moving to the partially opened box, before hesitating. I really shouldn't snoop, but the fact that Lennox has a secret box that just popped open for me is too much of a temptation, and I slowly lift the lid. My eyes widen when I find a small book with the shadow symbol on it along with several sheets of paper.

“Were you trying to figure out what this means, too?” I muse. Lifting the book and flipping through the pages, I growl when I realize it's written in a language I can't understand. “Figures,” I sigh, setting the book down as I sift through the papers. Most of the words are written in that weird language, I’m guessing Latin, since that's what Theo said most of our terms come from, but I pause on a sketch of a building that is all too familiar.

It's the church that I saw earlier. The one that the Hunters carried the humans out of… the one I suspect Valen is being held in.

“What are you up to, Lennox?” I whisper, frowning at the picture before my eyes move to the notes at the side of the page. As I read them, my blood turns cold, sweat beading on my upper lip as my heart skips a beat. The first note reads.

Holding ground. Blood charms are active. Fatal to Demons.

Just under that one written in different handwriting is:

Dreamwalker Blood

And then in big, bold letters that have been underlined:

Meyer Smith

The picture drops from my hand, Valen’s words echoing in my mind. “Do not trust anyone,” I whisper out loud. Then Razar's words in the hall when he warned me they were only using me. “I’m a pawn…” I whisper again, my heart cracking a little at the thought.

Is that why Creed has been nice to me? Is that… oh, fuck! Is that why he slept with me? But why do they need me? Maybe they already knew the Seniors were keeping other Hunters locked up and want to get them free.

But then why not come out and simply ask me? I would have helped. I glance back down at the drawing of the old church building, wanting to make sure I read everything correctly, then grab the box, dragging it closer to me and looking at the last document inside. There is a date listed, a little more than a year ago, along with a location and several names. Four of which catch my attention.

Lennox Regalis…. Razar Regalis… Credence Regalis… and Elliot Regalis.

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