Page 77 of A Shadow of Betrayal

When I first saw her, I was shocked, thinking my mind had finally broken. The last known Dream Walker in the Demon or human realms had died twenty-seven years ago. Yet here Meyer is, seemingly unknowing of who or what she actually is.

I smile, excitement filling me as I think about finally getting free. To have my revenge on the men that have locked me up for so long. To keep Mi Sol safe, to return home with her, and show her what life can truly be. I feel myself wake even more, my mind becoming increasingly aware of my physical surroundings as Meyer's magic fills me. So much so that I could swear she's standing next to me. However, my excitement slowly turns into dread as I hear a familiar voice. Raspy with old age as he commands the room.

“Take them to the north ridge. Throw them through the damn veil if you can, but bring me back a Royal. The Seniorem meets on the full moon, and I need more magic in order to convince them to move forward with our plans, brothers.”

Senior Arthur Axford. The Umbra Hunter who decided to shatter the veils even more. To pull magic that wasn't his to own and further endanger the human world. All for his own selfish reasons, his need for power, and lack of self-control. I mentally curse his name, wishing I wasn't being held in a mental prison built from my own magic. If Meyer is this close, has he figured out who she is… has she been taken, only to be bled dry in their attempt to control her?

I can feel my magic protest at the idea, wanting to break free of its confines and find her. To save her from the fate that I have been subjected to for so long, but the magic bindings around me hold fast, mentally, and magically locking me away from the world.

“Fuck!” I feel helpless as her presence slowly fades, leaving me alone in the darkness once again, fighting the pull of oblivion as I cling to the feeling of her warm light. I can only pray she isn't hurt or hasn’t been taken and put under by the Seniorem. The longer her presence is gone, the harder it is to fight the dark pull, and my mind screams, wanting… no needing Meyer to come to us.

Almost like fate, I can feel her call. The snow-covered plains of her dreams rush through my dark reality, forcing me into the bitter cold of winter. I look down at myself, smiling when I see the dresscoat and slacks I’m wearing, then look around for the bright blonde hair of Mi Sol.

“Mi Sol?” I call, squinting against the bright light of the sun reflecting off the snow. “Mi Sol, where are you?” I shout, desperation and worry setting in when I don't see her. Where in hell's name is she? Why am I in her dreams without her? “Meyer!” I shout, raising my hands to cup around my mouth, projecting her name as loud as I can as my heart hammers in my chest.

“Valen?”

Meyer’s soft voice practically sends me to my knees as I turn and find her in the beautiful blue dress she always wears, flowing pale blond hair cascading over her shoulder as she attempts to take a step toward me before looking down and cursing her tiny silk slippers.

“Are you alright?” she asks as I stumble toward her, grabbing her hands in mine and looking her up and down, checking for any injury she may have. I turn her so I can look at her back, making sure there are no binding runes or symbols burned into her flesh, and gasp in shock at the three large scars that start at her shoulder and disappear under the fabric of her gown. I reach up, trailing my fingers down one of the thick scars, making goosebumps erupt over her skin, and she flinches, tearing herself away from me before turning and giving me the most adorable scowl I have ever seen.

“Hey, what the hell, Valen? Why are you freaking out?” she asks, pushing at my hands when I try to turn her back around. The anger that burns through me at the sight of her perfect flesh scarred makes me want to destroy worlds. I know that it was a Beastia that put those there. I can clearly see the way her flesh healed from the claws the creature must have raked over her back.

I thought Mi Sol had been lucky, living as a human and staying under the radar, but these scars prove me wrong. “Stop it. It's rude to point out people's flaws,” she snaps, batting my hands away from her shoulders and back.

Flaws? She thinks her scars are flaws? If anything, they prove just how strong the woman in front of me actually is.

“Are you alright?” I ask, letting the topic of her scarred back drop for now. I will see what I can do to lessen them the moment I'm not trapped. But for now, I need to be sure she's alright, then ask her where she was earlier.

“Um, yeah?” she responds, then looks around us, almost like she's just realizing she's back in her dreamscape. “That bastard!” she screeches, lifting her dress up as she turns in a circle, the snow dampening the hem of her dress as she glares around us. “He fucking put me to sleep so I couldn't follow after them!”

“Who, Mi Sol?” I ask, my anger from earlier coming back in full force.

“Razar!” she shouts, kicking at the snow in front of her, making the slipper on her foot go flying through the air. I hold a hand up and call it back to me, molding her dreams, using her magic as my own to create the clothes she prefers to wear before holding the slipper, which is now a small ankle boot, out to her. “Thanks,” she says offhandedly, grabbing the shoe and slipping it on her small foot, her toes bright red and making me worry. “How did he shove me into my dreams?” she ponders out loud, and I frown.

“Whoever it is must have a decent amount of magic,” I grumble. No doubt magic they stole from me. “Are you safe? The person that forced you into sleep… is he a threat to you?” Meyer snorts and shrugs her shoulders.

“Depends on the day. I think he wants me dead, but his brother won’t let him, so I don't think so,” she replies, crossing her arms over her chest, looking cold. I hold out a hand, then wait for her to take it, drawing her closer to me so that I can wrap an arm around her shoulders.

“I have a question I need to ask you, Mi Sol,” I start, looking down into her big green eyes and smiling when she blinks up at me. “I felt you earlier. It was almost like you were standing next to me. Were you sleeping? Or perhaps…” I trail off, trying to figure out how to word this. “Did you go anywhere you haven’t been before, Meyer?” I ask. The use of her name makes her brows raise, then they furrow.

“Holy shit! I know where you are!” she yells, yanking out of my grip as she tugs at her blonde locks. “I bet they’re keeping you in that creepy church with the humans! Do you think that is possible?” she asks, looking back at me, and I shrug.

“Maybe? Is that the only place you have been today?” Meyer frowns and shakes her head.

“I was in the Castle for the most part, but I followed this guy thinking he was Creed and found an old church where a bunch of Seniors and Hunters were meeting. They had more humans there, Valen!” she whispers, sounding distraught. Whatever she saw there scared her. I can see it in her eyes and how she tugs nervously at her hair. “They had the symbol carved into their chest. I watched the Hunters load them up; one of the Seniors told them to bring them to the—”

“The north ridge,” I whisper, remembering Arthur’s words.

“Yeah. How did you know that?”

“I heard them.” Meyer's eyes widen at my confession.

“Holy shit, you really are there! Fuck! Valen, I need to get you out of there. They are trying to catch Demons and bring them back. You could get hurt. Are there any other Hunters trapped with you?” I shake my head, my hands fisting at my sides.

“I don't know. The Seniorem will take drastic measures to ensure their plans continue. No one is safe,” I whisper, warring with myself as Meyer gets excited. I need her to come and release me. She is the key, the only one that could possibly get through the wards the Seniorem has placed on me, but how do I let her do that, to allow her to walk into danger without backup? If she is hurt, I would never forgive myself… if she’s captured, we are both doomed to a life of darkness.

“I’ll go to you the moment I wake up,” she claims, determination filling her expression and endearing her all the more to me. I reach out and cup her jaw, taking in her bright eyes and full lips. I'm tempted to lean in and kiss her, to taste her just once… just in case. But no… I want her to trust me, to know the true me before I ask anything personal of her. I have already taken more than she knows, and I won't steal anything else without her consent.

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