Page 26 of Vale of Dreams

My pulse is racing out of control. Some Fey can hear a heartbeat while standing nearby. I wonder if he’s one of them.

I lift my chin. “My family and I are tenants on farmland we don’t own. And we’re short on money. I met a lord one day who was slumming it in one of the country taverns, and he promised to lend us money, but he wanted me to get it from him in person. He told me to sneak in here at night when it was less guarded.”

A look of irritation crosses Talan’s handsome features. “Ah. And this so-called lord? Who is he?”

When I last saw Talan, he was with a retinue of followers, and I’d invaded their minds—nearly losing my own identity in their thoughts. For weeks, I’d occasionally get confused, thinking that I was actually one of them, and I still remembered each of their interior worlds. One of them is his cousin Lumos, a womanizer, desperate to be like Talan, though he’s also driven by relentless jealousy of his cousin. And since Lumos has little charm of his own, he often tries to lure women with promises of money. But he hardly keeps track of their names.

“Lord Lumos, he’s called. He was so generous with his offer. He told me he would cover our debt and give me a little extra to carry us through the winter.”

The Dream Stalker’s eyes dance with dark amusement. “Is that what he said? And what did he want in return for this surprisingly generous loan?”

My fingers tighten into fists. “I think he was just being nice. He told me he can afford to be nice because he’s very important, that he’s close to the royal family. He said that he once saved you from a wild wolf.”

I remember Lumos’s thoughts about the wolf incident. Talan always downplayed it, said that it was more a badger than a wolf, and that he’d never been in danger in the first place. Lumos told the story about the wolf whenever Talan wasn’t around.

“It was a badger,” Talan says with a sigh. “So, you’re here for money.”

“Without the loan, we’ll be destitute. You can ask him about our conversation a few weeks ago.”

Even if my story were true, he’d never remember a common woman he met in a tavern. He spends half his life drunk.

Talan’s dark eyebrows draw together. “And how did you enter the fortress, Nia?”

“I bribed a guard with the last of our money.”

Talan’s body goes still. Behind him, the torches flicker. “You’re lying again.”

My heart skips a beat. “I bribed him. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble, but I can tell you what he looks like.”

“You bribed no one. You used your powers.”

“My powers?” I frown at him and concentrate on my telepathy magic. I might need those tendrils of red really soon. Already, I can glimpse Talan’s own magic, brushes of energy that threaten to tighten around my skull, to send me into a waking nightmare. His magic is like a silken caress that turns sharp as a serpent’s tooth, prodding at my mind. I try to block him out with my mental veil, but I feel like it’s about to shatter.

He closes the distance between us, staring down at me from beneath his long eyelashes. “I’m getting impatient, Nia. I saw the threads of your powers in that guard’s mind. You were controlling him.”

“Mind control? Impossible. Primal powers are long gone from this world, and even if they existed, they would belong to someone powerful. Important. Not to someone like me.”

Lightning flashes outside, and it glints off his dark eyes. “Except I can see that you are more than you pretend to be.”

Fuck.

“I tire of this game,” he says with an indifferent sigh. “Fortunately, no one lies to me in the dream realm.”

Talan’s silky powers tighten around me, enveloping me in a shroud. I have a sliver of a second to react before he enters my mind. I lash at the tendrils of his power with my Sentinel energy, and his eyes widen with surprise, a line forming between his brows. Gritting my teeth, I dive in with both my powers, intent on breaking his mind, but searing pain rips through my skull.

His magic wraps around him, a protective barrier. Then it slides around me again, and it starts to probe. I stumble back, breathing hard, heart hammering. Panic drags its claws through my chest. Out of ideas, I turn and run for the stairwell. One step, two steps?—

But Talan moves in a blur, fast as lightning, and is already between me and the stairs. He grabs me by the throat and the waist, whirls me around, and flattens me against the wall. He has me pinned now, helpless, and my pulse races.

His thumb gently brushes over my throat, and his magic slips around my body, snaking up toward my mind. His dark eyes gleam. He’s intent on wrapping me in a waking nightmare, but my own power cracks and lashes like a whip, refusing to let him get a grip on my mind.

Then, all of a sudden, he lets his magic fall away, though he doesn’t release his grip on my waist and throat.

“There it is.” A deep whisper that reverberates over me. “That’s the power I was talking about.”

My fingers tighten into fists. I’ve managed to hold him off from entering my mind, and he’s not putting any pressure on my throat. In fact, though he swiftly pressed me against the wall, he did it without hurting me. Still, I have no doubt he can snap my neck like a twig. I’m completely in his control right now.

“Let’s try this again,” Talan says. “How did you enter the fortress?”

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