Page 21 of Vale of Dreams

An answer he really doesn’t want to know. “I’m here alone. I met a source who helped me. We’ll talk about all of that later. Right now, we have to get moving. Can you stand?”

I sit next to him and slide my arm around his waist, helping him up. He slumps against me.

“You’re here alone? I don’t understand why Avalon Tower would send you alone. It’s incredibly risky. The King’s Watch lurks unseen all over the kingdom. What if you were captured?”

I swallow hard. “They didn’t exactly send me.”

He pulls away and leans against the wall. “So, you came into the enemy’s kingdom against orders, recklessly and on your own, because you wanted to get me out?”

“Did you expect me to leave you here forever? They were moving far too slowly, and I had to figure it out myself.”

“Why couldn’t you work with Avalon Tower on this plan?”

“Do we really need to talk about this now?” I hiss.

“You recklessly came to break me out, just like I couldn’t let you get captured. Because the only thing on my mind was you. And now the only thing on your mind is me.” His haunted voice echoes off the stones.

“Of course I’ve been thinking about you. What did you expect?”

There’s something unnervingly despondent about the way he’s speaking, but I can’t expect anything different after what he’s been through.

I touch him, urging him toward the stairs, and he drags himself up the steps. I follow close behind in case he stumbles, staring in fury at what they’ve done to him. His back is a network of scars, and my heart clenches at the sight of it. Right now, I want to hunt down Auberon and his fucked-up son and cut them into ribbons.

I look for the moth, but I don’t see it. It doesn’t matter, anyway. Cadoc can be our new guide.

Near the top of the stairs, Raphael glances at me, his cheeks gaunt. But I wonder if he’s finding a bit of his old strength. Something shines in his eyes, perhaps the realization that freedom is just around the corner.

We reach Cadoc, and Raphael tenses, but I raise my hand to assure him it’s fine. Cadoc is staring vacantly at the wall, his mind consumed with the fantasies in which I drowned him.

Give the prisoner your coat. Lead us out. We need a way out of the Castle Perillos.

I slam him with my powers.

No one may see us.

His jaw sags, and his eyes are dazed. He drops the spear, and it clatters to the floor. He pulls off his blue soldier’s coat and hands it to Raphael, who pulls it on. Bending over, he sucks in a breath before picking up his spear again and shambles up the stairs. We follow Cadoc up the outdoor stairwell and through the hallways of the castle, taking care to avoid any area that might be occupied.

Unlike Mordred’s little moth, Cadoc can’t magically see and avoid other people walking around. But he knows which ways are less used, which corridors are mostly forgotten, and where the guard patrols are.

Twice, he tells us to hide in empty rooms behind closed doors while he scouts forward, checking for anyone who might see us. He does it all as if he’s half awake, his consciousness rambling over the scorched earth I left behind. I’ve never unleashed my mind control like that, and I wonder if he’ll ever snap out of it, or just stumble through the rest of his life.

He leads us up one stairwell after another, then down a narrow corridor. He opens a door.

“You’ll have to wait here…leading you out through the kitchen, but part of the staff is still there. Cleaning up. Should be fine soon. In here…yes. Good? No one will look.”

“Fine.” I glance inside the small room, a library where a fire is burning. At least it’ll give Raphael and me time to talk a bit, figure out our next move. I give a whisper of a command to Cadoc.

“I’ll wait outside,” he stutters, prompted by my order. “Keep a lookout.”

“That’s a good idea.” I take Raphael by the hand and lead him into the room.

Raphael follows me and closes the door behind us, then drops down onto a red velvet sofa. He runs his hand over his shorn hair. The cut is uneven, his features gaunt—but he somehow looks gorgeous as ever. “Tell me how you got here, Nia.”

I sit next to him and brush a smudge of dirt off one of his high cheekbones. “I got here through a ley portal. But I won’t be able to get you back that way. It’s only for Sentinels. So, I need to hide you until I can find a portal key here in the kingdom. Then we can both get out.”

He covers my hand with his, but then he pulls it away again and stares into my eyes. “That’s the problem, love.”

I have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. “What problem?”

---