Page 150 of Crown of Slumber

Sapphire shook her head, her eyes closing. “Then there is nothing more we can do for her.”

“I have to go back and fight with her!”

“And what will you do, that she cannot do herself?” Sapphire snapped. “Use your brain, foolish boy. If she is powerless, then so are you, and you are a liability that the Dream Mage can use against her.”

Dread sank in my chest, dragging me down. “So, my going to the Dream Realm did nothing.”

“Perhaps. Perhaps not. You awakened her from the dreamscape, did you not?”

I frowned. “The dreamscape?”

“Yes. Everyone who travels to the Dream Realm is trapped within a dreamscape of her making. It makes them believe they are only dreaming.”

I thought of Aurelia in the tea room, her confusion upon first seeing me. “Yes,” I said slowly. “I awakened her. But it did nothing. It only made her aware of her imprisonment. She still can’t be freed.”

Sapphire was nodding. “That is the first step, boy. You must trust that she can deliver herself from her predicament. Somehow.” But even her own words sounded feeble, as if she didn’t quite believe it.

I swallowed thickly before sinking to the chair next to the spinning wheel, sudden exhaustion clouding my head. In my mind, I saw Aurelia’s broken expression. I saw my mother’s face, eyes wide and empty as the life left her. As my sword punctured her chest.

Gods, it was all too much. Agony twisted through me, sharp and merciless. I scrubbed a hand down my face and glanced around the room, searching for a distraction. Aurelia’s sleeping form still rested on the bed. She seemed even paler than before.

“Mal? The dragon?” I asked Sapphire.

“He is still in the hall,” she assured me. “He returned when you did. When I cast the tethering spell, he couldn’t fit in the doorway. So I got a vial of his blood instead, and was able to tether him that way. When you both went to the Dream Realm, it was as if you two had merely fallen asleep. No one would have noticed.”

I laughed. “Except for the massive sleeping dragon in the hallway.”

Sapphire’s lips twitched, and I almost died of shock at the sight.

A thunderous knocking rattled the door. I jumped to my feet, heart pounding as I raced to open it.

It was Gorrick, and he was out of breath, his face taut with panic. “Forgive me for the interruption, Your Highness, but we just received word of movement of the Autumn Court’s army.”

My spine straightened as dread pooled in my stomach. “Are they coming here?”

He shook his head. “No, sire. They are invading the Summer Court. The Autumn King has just declared war.”

The rune youused when Shay died. Remember it.

Fenn’s words echoed in my mind, circling over and over again as I faced Rosalina, the two of us now alone in the clearing in the forest. I was simultaneously relieved and devastated that Fenn and Mal were gone. Their presence had given me strength, but it had also added to my panic and turmoil, knowing Rosalina could hurt them with a mere wave of her hand.

I faced Rosalina, my chin lifting. “So, now what? Will you put me in chains? Force me to relive my worst memories?”

“There’s no need for that,” she said. “All I need to do is wait for your energy to drain and the bond between you and your dragons to snap. I don’t need to resort to any unpleasantness as long as you can remain civil.”

The rune you used when Shay died. Remember it.My mind strained to recall the specific image the witch had drawn on me when my magic first awakened in the witches’ encampment. It was… a circle of some kind. With lines protruding from the center. But how many lines? Runic magic had to be very specific, and I couldn’t risk getting this wrong.

Rosalina was watching me, waiting for a response, so I forced a laugh. “I find it hard to believe you don’t want anyunpleasantness.”

She sighed. “Think what you will about me. I said it before: I do what is necessary to protect myself. No more, no less.”

The Awakening Rune,Shay had said as she’d painted the rune on the back of my hand.The circle represents your magic. The lines extending from it represent your body and your soul.

Two lines. There had been two lines on the rune. I was certain of it.

I started pacing the length of the clearing, keeping my steps slow and casual, as if I didn’t care where my feet took me. “I’m curious,” I said. “Why a spinning wheel?”

For a moment, Rosalina blinked at me. Then, she said, “Do you not recall what my role was within our clan?”

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