Page 104 of Snatched By the Sandman

“It’s beautiful,” I whisper.

So many colors shifting like a dream caught in a prism. The Eye is a deep, unsettling violet, with flecks of gold and silver that pulse and swirl, reminding me of distant stars trapped in a nebula. Delicate, spider-webbing of black diamond-like grains encase the Eye, pulsating with a rhythmic, hypnotic throb.

It’s difficult to believe that otherworldly force was inside me, the embodiment of Morpheus. I like to believe that a part of my soul will always remember his. And Nyxion’s.

Thanatos takes his sickle in hand and lifts it toward my face. “Eyes are the windows to the soul,” he begins, voice soft but unwavering. A deep shiver rushes down my spine, spreading ice through me. “Every cut must be flawless. This will not hurt, but you will lose your vision. Once I do this, there is no going back.”

I nod, blink once, then open my eyes as wide as possible, granting him the fullest access. Focused on the ice growing from his skull, I notice a couple of dead rose petals encased within the ice. My thoughts stray as I wonder why they are significant.

Thanatos slowly touches the edge of the blade to the corner of my eye. The blade is sharp and precise, designed for more than mere reaping. He makes clean, surgical incisions, his movements almost graceful in their precision.

As he slowly removes my soul, a bright flash of light like lightning sears my vision. I’d swear it feels like liquid ice and fire are escaping my eyes.

My soul itself emerges. I gasp at the glorious sight. Luminous and swirling, it thrums like a heartbeat and reminds me of a small star—but a star with thousands of iridescent tendrils curling from the radiant core.

My vision begins to dim, the world around me blurring into darkness. The last thing I see is Thanatos embedding my soul through Ivy’s eyes, the connection formed in a brilliant, ethereal glow.

Ivy opens her eyes.

“They’re so blue,” I murmur right before blackness eclipses my eyes, and my heart grows wings until I’m floating in the air.

Chapter 38

“You must become a triune anchor for her.”

MORPHEUS

“Don’t Let Go” by Gentri

When Thanatos returns with Zenya, dread slams into me at the realization of what she has done.

A moment ago, Phantasos was rocking Ivy. Now, he rises with no trace of the little girl in sight.

And Zenya is…floating.

“Hello, my loves!” Zenya chirps and flutters her hand, pivoting her body like she’s swimming.

Every muscle in my wings tightens.

Hecate tilts her head, narrowing her eyes on the young woman who sweeps her fingers through the floating torches, the flames not burning her. Fuck. My heart stops.

Linny and Ginny both front, giggling and pretending they are birds to experience the floating feeling.

Nyxion and I march right for Thanatos. Death holds my Eye, its iridescent glow casting eerie shadows on the walls. I press my lips into a grim seam as I take back my Eye and surge my shadows until they form a sphere around the Eye. With a burst of molten sand, it returns to its rightful place in the center of my palm.

A few feathers shed in the process, but I regain my full power, my black diamond sand dancing with my shadows in a flawless, symbiotic romance. A shudder ripples through me, but my relief is short-lived at Zenya’s laughter echoing all around us, light and unburdened. Now, she’s swinging on Hecate’s throne of serpents as they rear up, hissing, and biting her, but she feels no pain. Her eyes shine brighter with no aquamarine—empty, vacant. My heart clenches, the pain deepening.

“She’s given up her soul,” Hecate whispers, her flames crackling with unease.

What have you done?Nyxion growls in the crevasse of our consciousness while seizing Thanatos’s collar.

Thanatos grows frost crystals to force my brother’s bony fingers off his high collar. “It was Zenya’s choice. She did it with her strongest agency and power.”

“Did what…?” Phantasos approaches on the other side, his brows lifted, but he must already know.

Death flicks his gaze to all of us before proclaiming, “Zenya gave her soul to Ivy. Ivy has awoken.”

I turn to the floating Zenya, fear carving through me. “She’ll escape and become a lost dream.”

---