Page 99 of Vale of Dreams

But I have more questions about him than I started with, and I won’t ever have another opportunity like this, with him in a drug-induced sleep. He won’t wake easily or sense me at all.

I wait until I’m sure he’s asleep, his breathing slow and his body relaxed, and touch his shoulder. It happens without effort when my fingers touch his skin. Unlike my encounters with others, there’s no pain, and his thoughts drift closer to me like toy sailboats floating on a stream. It’s effortless.

In his mind, I see a woman standing over him, her eyes dark as his, her hair streaming over a white gown. Behind her is a tapestry of a weeping willow.

His mother.

Now, a raging storm clouds the sky, lightning igniting the landscape. Thunder rumbles over the horizon.

She’s led to a wooden scaffold, her hair draped over a long, thin gown. Her arms are tied behind her back. Wind tears at the landscape, rain hammering, as she’s bound to a stake with kindling at her feet. A keening sound rends the air as someone brings a torch to the wood. Talan’s fear cuts me to the bone.

He wants everyone to feel like he does.

I’m shaking now, but the storm in his mind rages, sweeping the image away.

He’s alone, wandering through empty gothic halls. It’s like he’s been in these halls in solitude for centuries.

Finally, I catch a stray thought, more of an image than a sentence. A map. I recognize it at once. I’ve studied this map myself for weeks, alongside other agents of Avalon.

It’s a map of Scotland.

I home in on it, sliding deeper into his mind, praying that he’ll stay asleep. This may be my only chance.

And as I sift through his thoughts about the war council, my heart sinks.

I see Auberon. He clenches his jaw, then motions violently with his hands, and the air in front of him shimmers, tears open, the green hills of Scotland materializing beyond. This is the king’s power, I realize—the magical skill of opening portals.

Talan is poring over the map. He’s the one who made the plans, not his father. He stands with the Fey army leaders, giving the orders. He was the one who came up with the plan to attack Dover by surprise, pouring the Fey in through the south. He orchestrated the attack with the dragons, the veil that rolled into us.

We all assumed Auberon was the one calling the shots, deciding how and where to attack. But looking through Talan’s thoughts, I see a military mastermind. He understands the field better than anyone, and he’s in control. Talan whispers instructions in the ears of the generals, and he cunningly twists the High Council to act as he plans.

Now, he has a plan for Scotland. A ruse. A two-pronged attack to destroy the allied resistance. A trap.

It begins with three dragons attacking the logistical base, just as we already knew. But the second part is bait—exposing the flank of his army to the human forces. He plans to give the humans an opportunity they won’t be able to ignore. He knows they’ll take the bait and attack with everything they’ve got, hoping to cripple the Fey army for good.

But when they do, he’ll snap the trap shut with a hidden force, routing the human military from behind. The Fey will surround them and massacre them all. Total carnage.

Even more horrifying than his plan is his satisfaction with it. Swimming through his thoughts, I can see how pleased he is with its perfection. This slaughter is the best possible outcome, and it’s going to happen within two days.

Shaking, I pull away from his mind, staring at him with horror.

Deep asleep, he looks so peaceful—the beautiful monster who intends to destroy us all. The man who took an arrow for me.

But of course, he has no idea what I really am.

On weak legs, I hurry out of the room, shutting the door behind me.

I have to warn Avalon Tower before it’s too late.

I have to stop them from falling into Talan’s well-laid trap.

CHAPTER 37

It’s late at night, but I’m thundering down the stairs, my heart slamming. My thoughts rage as I rush outside into the cold.

I lift my cloak to walk swiftly to the portal.

I have to get a message to Avalon Tower tonight. They’ll have two days to prepare, to come up with a proper strategic response and coordinate it with the units on the ground. With Talan recuperating, I can easily disappear tonight without worrying that he’ll show up in my room. I’ll row the tiny boat to Camelot and then?—

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