Page 131 of Trials of Dusk and Dreams
“What do you mean?”
As I stare into his manic eyes, I’m struck by the realization that I’m missing something crucial. His words and actions don’t align with what I thought I knew. He’s playing a more complex game than I’d imagined, with rules I don’t understand. And it scares me.
A muscle in his jaw ticks, and for a moment, I think he might lash out. But then his shoulders slump, and he laughs bitterly.
“You want to know why I align myself with him? Maybe it’s because I don’t want to be saved. I don’t want a queen at all. I want the oblivion the gods robbed us of when they gave us you.”
“Again, not a queen,” I grind out. I stare. “Puck promised you that?”
His smile is hollow. “At least with him, I know where I stand. With you . . .” He trails off, his eyes roaming my face, lingering on my lips. “With you, I don’t know if I’m losing my mind or finding it.”
Somehow, my words fail me. The air in my lungs thickens. Even from where he stands a good yard away, I feel the heat of his body and smell his intoxicating scent. Part of me wants to reach out to him, but another part knows that doing so could be incredibly dangerous.
“So what now?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
Emrys’s eyes darken. “Now, little moth, we wait. And you pray that your precious mates find us before the Nightmares break free. Because trapped in here with me . . . well, let’s just sayI might not be as noble as the others when it comes to resisting temptation.”
Chapter 54
Willow
Itake my sword and sit down with my back against the door. There’s no chance of falling through again. The solid stone has melded it closed.
Emrys does the same, but first, he walks across the partition down the center of the stables, distastefully kicking straw out of his way. He sits with his back to the door, his hate-filled eyes never leaving me.
I untie the laces on my cape to let the air in as I look around. Numerous doors stretch from floor to ceiling, hiding the inhabitants of each stall. Two lanterns dangle above, casting the only light. I don’t feel a breeze, which makes me think the boarded windows are the primary sources of airflow. Now they’re solid stone.
Hissing, shrieking, and doors rattling grow in intensity like an oncoming thunderstorm. The beasts know something is wrong. They want out with a renewed passion.
My gaze returns to Emrys. His face doesn’t seem so scary now. Maybe it’s because I’ve realized why, despite all his cruelty, I’m still attracted to him. Like each of my mates, he satisfies a different need in my soul. Or maybe his scowl is not so scary because my little sisters give the same look when I takesomething of theirs or tell them no when they really,reallywant something. It’s the kind of look one gives to mask the pain inside.
I close my eyes and fall into the past, back to when I was alone and aching—sobbing in my Crystal City room, desperate for someone to share my pain with—someone who would understand. But I’d returned to Elphyne and lived amongst heroes.
When I open my eyes, Emrys’s black brows knit together. He looks ready to run across the room and strangle me. Instead, I point my sword at one of the thick stable doors. “Why don’t you tell me about the Nightmares you’ve trapped in there?”
“Why would I tell you anything?” he spits. “You’re a brief, transient visitor in my very long life. Soon, your light will be snuffed out, and we’ll forget you as we do the rest.”
“Sure. Keep telling yourself that.” I smile, unperturbed. “We’re mates. We’re destined to be together.”
“The only way we would be together is if you crawled on your knees to me.”
I stare at the expanse between us. “It’s not that far.”
His lips part, I guess, to explain that’s not what he meant by us being together. But then his jaw clicks shut with understanding. “Your attempts at wit are as feeble as your grasp on our reality.”
“Come on, Emrys,” I press, ignoring his barb. “Just tell me about the Nightmares. What if one of them gets out? Will you face them by yourself?”
His jaw works, eyes flashing as he contemplates my words.
“We’re stuck in here, aren’t we?” I say. “May as well fill the time. What else can we do? Unless of course”—I drop my voice to a husky whisper—“that offer about not resisting temptation stands.”
“It wasn’t an offer,” he balks.
“Sure sounded like an offer to me.”
I can’t bear to sit still, so I start pacing beside each stall, listening to the unique sounds and sniffing the air. A strange clicking comes from one. Is that even an animal?
I yank off my too-hot cape, toss it on the floor, and tap a door to test the creature inside. It slams its body against the door, and I step back. Interesting.
