Page 169 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
“What better place to do that than in the Dreamlock Woods?”
“This place is nightmares and tricks,” he retorted. “Not hopes and dreams.”
“Then please share your superior plan,” she said flatly, holding her palm above the ground and toying with her magic. Soil swirled, bits of leaves and debris among it.
Then it was swept away on a gust of wind.
She lifted her eyes, glaring at Lange.
“Let’s sleep on it,” Corbin said. “Let’s get some rest, and discuss this again in the morning. Maybe something will come to us.”
Lange muttered an agreement, but Eviana said nothing. She was taking the first watch tonight, and she remained silent as the males settled down beside each other. Corbin’s arm looped over Lange’s waist, keeping him close, and it didn’t take long for them to slip into slumber. Even breathing and steady heartbeats. They always slept more deeply together.
Lange wasn’t wrong. Tessa was probably their best bet. There was some kind of mutual understanding between them, with her visits at the Faven palace and the “gifts” she would leave behind. Eviana simply had no idea how to contact her.
With a sigh, she stood, stretching her legs and back, then she stilled at the sound of crunching leaves. Godsdammit. She was too exhausted to deal with a Dread-Nymph right now.
Retrieving her dagger, she made her way in the direction the sound had come from. She could handle the Nymph. Then she could rest while Corbin took over the watch.
Her steps were slow and tentative, trying to spot the Nymph in the dark. They blended in too easily, one with the woods and all that. So it was no surprise to her when she didn’t find a Nymph, but instead was pulled into a nightmare.
“Eve,” Valter purred as she rounded a small curve in the path she was trying to follow.
She swallowed thickly.It’s a vision, she reminded herself. She just needed to play along and not get sucked in until she could find the Nymph.
“I will admit, you were rather clever with this whole thing,” Valter went on. “Then again, I’m not surprised. You are my Source for a reason.” He ventured closer, a flashlight in one hand that lit up the area around them.
Eviana scanned the trees, hoping the light would reveal the Dread-Nymph, but there was nothing. It had to be staying hidden in the shadows and trees, which was inconvenient and irritating.
“I had you bred especially for me,” Valter continued, close enough now to wind strands of her hair around his finger. Then he yanked on them. “And still you chose to betray me. After all I have given you.”
She hardly felt the pain in her scalp, too used to his mannerisms after decades. It wasn’t real anyway.
“Yet a part of me always knew this day would come,” he continued. “It’s why I took…precautions.”
Eviana gritted her teeth. Where the fuck was this godsdamn Nymph?
“I heard you met her today,” Valter said, circling around her now, his fingers trailing along her shoulder and down her spine. “She is beautiful, isn’t she? Just like her mother.”
“Stop,” Eviana hissed, unable to help herself. Even knowing this wasn’t real, she couldn’t sit and listen to this.
“Finally, a reaction,” he crooned. “It has been so long since you’ve let those emotions slip. I’ve missed our time together correcting that behavior.”
Eviana pressed her lips together, taking a few steps forward. She felt his hand slip from her back. She just needed to go deeper into the woods. The Nymph had to be hiding there.
“But after all these years, those behavior corrections wouldn’t serve my purposes anyway, would they, my flower? I knew they would eventually become useless, so I took precautions for that too,” he said from behind her.
She ignored him, making her way to the trees. Her hold tightened around the hilt of the dagger, and her eyes strained to see in the shadows.
“You can come out, my sweet Priya,” he called, and Eviana paused as the child emerged from the trees down the path. She wore the same clothing as earlier today, her hair now braided in a plait over her shoulder. Her smile was wide and terrifying as those turquoise eyes landed on Eviana.
Valter stalked past her, and when he reached the child’s side, he held out his hand. Priya slipped her little fingers into his palm without question, still holding her stare.
“You did well, my sweet Priya,” Valter praised, squeezing her fingers in his own. “Thank you for helping me find her.”
“What?” Eviana asked, breathing suddenly far too difficult.
Not real,she told herself.It’s not real. Find the fucking Nymph.
