Page 86 of Dreams and Dragon Wings
Silver and gold threads of Mind and Spirit unravel around us, leaving the world flickering between glittering fae and cackling goblins. It is the raucous sound of the latter’s laughter that finally wrenches me back to the here and now, that finally grounds me in the present.
Malice looms over me, unsmiling, no longer on the opposite side of the room.
Just as I feared.
“And yet you have been toying with me since you first entered this room, Lady Aurelia,” he drawls, taking a single step closer.
“What?” Indignation rises to drown out my panic. I fall back, retreating toward the doors leading back out into the corridor, placing more distance between us again. “I have done nothing of the sort.”
His eyebrow arches. Ridiculously, he claims, “You flirt with me with nearly every other breath you take.”
I gape up at him, my jaw threatening to tumble all the way to the floor. “I wouldnever.”
He speaks over me, completely ignoring my words. “And here I expected you to be rather meek after your performance last night.”
My danger sense spikes, screaming at me to run as Malice prowls closer by another step. But I don’t listen. I tense my muscles and root myself in place.
Bene, I remind myself. I must stay strong for Bene. I cannot keep fleeing. I must learn how to face this man. Tobeathim.
Lifting my chin, I suggest, “Give me a blade and I will show you how meek I can be.”
It is all a bluff. I have never wielded a weapon in my life. Not that it matters.
My threat clearly has the exact opposite effect from the one I intend.
Malice smiles, flashing his sharp canines. “Do not tempt me with a good time, my lady.”
And with those words, something within me snaps—my courage.
Without another thought, without another moment’s hesitation, I turn and run.
Out the doors. Into the hall.
As fast as my legs can carry me.
Shame seeps into my thoughts, blotting out all else as I fly down one corridor and then the next, already lost within these labyrinthine halls. Tears mist my vision, threatening to spill forth.
Is this how I intend to stay strong for Bene? By running like a frightened child?
My steps slow as, even through Velda’s weave, I feel the pain pulsing through my wounded left leg. I should not be strainingit so. I stop running completely and lean against one of the windowsills.
Cold night air spills in through the broken glass, sweeping over me and bringing me back to myself. Swallowing hard, I blink back my tears before they have a chance to fall.
I will shed not a single tear for Malice, the false king.
He is not worth the effort.
Leaning my forehead against the stone wall, I blearily gaze out upon the lifeless landscape of the Shadow Lands. What am I supposed to do now?
As if in answer, a silver light flashes in the distance, drawing my gaze.
“Therya’kai!”Velda’s voice suddenly explodes within my mind.“Come quickly! I’ve found them!”
My heart races as I push myself from the wall, hardly daring to hope this nightmare might soon be over. But just as the first flicker of doubt passes through my mind, Velda’s voice comes again.
So excited, so sure, she confidently declares:
“I’ve found Bene!”
