Page 11 of Queen of Stars and Shadows

He reaches out and squeezes my shoulder. “Alright. Then I will hold that hope with you.”

I offer him a trembling smile, and then I turn over and let sleep take me.

The first thing I see in the dream is a giant tree, some sort of oak with massive, sprawling branches.

Beneath the tree are two figures. They’re sitting on the ground, wrapped in a tight embrace. In the shadowy landscape of my dreams, I can’t quite make out enough detail, so I move closer.

I see then that it’s a man and a woman. The woman is straddling the man’s lap, and he’s kissing the side of her neck. His pale hand moves the ebony cascade of her hair to one side. When he bites her, I recoil. I expect her to scream, but the sound that rises from her is one of ecstasy, not agony. She leans her head to the side, rolling her hips against him as he sucks at her skin…

With flaming cheeks, I realize I’ve stumbled into a vision of Zara and Asher. I turn and quickly run in the opposite direction, moving silently through my dreamscape.

It takes me a couple minutes to come to full awareness, to take control of my dream and focus my thoughts.Lilette. I need to find Lilette.

But my heart betrays me because it’s not Lilette I see as I wander through the swirling mists and shadowy valleys. I know instantly when I see the silhouette of the figure far in the distance. It’s Zyren.

I approach softly and swiftly, moving in that way one can only move in dreams, weightless and timeless. When I’m a dozen feet away, I slow and wait for him to sense me, as I know he will. After all, he’s been traversing dreams for centuries longer than I have. He may have forgotten me, but he hasn’t forgottenthis.

He turns, slowly, and his eyes narrow when he sees me. But he doesn’t walk away as he did the night before. He stands and hewatches me, a flicker of curiosity in his eyes. Or maybe even the slightest flicker of recognition.

“You visited my dreams every night for years,” I say softly. “Even if you don’t remember, I’m not giving up on us.”

No reply, but again, he stays.

“I love you, Zyren,” I say, taking a tentative step forward. “And you love me. We told each other for the first time just two nights ago.” Another step.

“Then why can’t I remember?” he asks, his deep voice vibrating the shadows, sending a shiver up my spine. “Do you know what happened to my memories?”

I try to hide my flinch, but his keen eyes catch the movement.

“Youdoknow.”

“I have a strong suspicion,” I whisper. “Our families—Otreyas and Lyonian—there’s a curse…”

He’s the one who takes a step forward this time. “Go on.”

I close the remaining distance between us, so that only a few inches separate us. I can feel the warmth of his breath and the radiance of his power wash over me. My eyes close a moment as I relish his closeness. I crave his touch so badly it makes my chest hurt.

My eyes open again. “We both possess nightmare blood.” I pause, gauging his reaction before continuing. He doesn’t look surprised. “It doesn’t flow in the veins of all of us, it skips generations at a time. And for some reason, if our lines join, and fall in love, and both carry nightmare blood…”

My words falter, I can’t finish. I drop my gaze, my hair falling in a cascade around my cheeks, hiding my shame. I’d kept this secret from him for too long. It had been hard enough when I’d told him the first time, after we made love in the Court of Memory. He’d scoffed, brushed it off, said the curse was only a fable.

But it wasn’t.

And now, telling him a second time, feels like torture.

Zyren reaches out and slowly runs one finger along the line of my jaw, lifting my gaze back to his. His skin against mine carries the electric pulse of magic, the tension of a coming storm, the whole sky taut with it. I meet his eyes, and there’s a storm there, too. Not just the metallic-gray color of them, but I can tell he feels the hum between us. He may not remember, but his body does.

“You can tell me,” he murmurs in his voice of midnight and liquid steel.

“You’re cursed because you love me,” I whisper, feeling my heart fracture all over again.

His eyes widen slightly, and his lips move to respond, but I don’t get a chance to hear what he has to say.

Because, in that moment, I’m yanked backward out of my dreamscape. The shadows surrounding me disappear as if swatted away by a giant hand, and instead, I find myself blinking in bright sunlight.

Chapter Six

Zyren

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