Page 25 of Nightmare's Dance

“All of that, and why are you naked?” Ash finished.

I glanced down at myself. “I was totally wearing clothing on the other side of the mirror,” I protested.

“You used the dream essence to repair the arch,” Nic explained quietly.

“Oh. Sure. Of course, I did.” I wrapped the blanket around myself and sagged back to the ground. Nic put his hand on my shoulder to steady me.

I both wanted to shrug him off and to crawl into his arms and cry. I did note that he was a lot more solid on this side of the mirror.

“Ember? Are you okay?” Ash prompted.

“Uh. No. Not really. Why are you here?”

“You and Knight have been missing for a week.” She crouched down in front of me.

“Shit. Robby! Is Robby okay?”

“He’s fine. Someone gave him a concussion, and he doesn’t remember much, but he’s okay,” Ash supplied.

I took a deep breath. “Okay. Good. I really don’t know how to answer your other questions.”

“Perhaps you should get cleaned up, get some food, and then we can talk.” Nic’s voice flattened at the last bit, and I guessed he was not at all happy to have the audience.

“Who are you again?” Ash shifted her attention from me to the shadow prince.

“Nic,” he replied sharply.

“He’s fine, Ash. And Nic’s right. Help me up?” I said to Nic.

Gently, he supported me while I got to my feet. I took a minute to lean against him and get my balance before stepping away.

“But you came through a mirror!” my mom protested.

“Yeah, it’s a whole thing,” I snapped, unable to deal with anything else.

“Let’s let Ember get cleaned up,” Ash soothed. “We’ll get answers in a minute. At least she’s safe, and I’m sure she’s hungry.”

My parents backed off, but their wide-eyed stares never left me or Nic.

“Okay, why don’t you hang out here, and I’ll be back,” I said to the prince.

Nic glanced up at the mirror, then back at me, smiling wryly and a touch unhappily. “For now, at least, I’m stuck here.”

I followed his gaze. The mirror had shattered in its frame.

“Shit,” I muttered.

“Mary might have cracked it for us,” he supplied. “Breaking the trail and all that.”

My parents and Ash stared at us, but didn’t throw any more demands for answers our way.

“Food sounds amazing,” I said, latching onto that subject. I let Ash put her arm around me and lead me from our cozy den. My parents headed for the kitchen, looking a little dazed.

“I recognize him,” Ash blurted as soon as we were alone. “He looks like an older version of one of those boys you used to draw.”

I’d drawn so many things over the years. I’d forgotten about that, too. Not Ash, though. She was sharp as a tack and her memory had to be near perfect. It made her a fantastic lawyer.

“Yeah. About that,” I said, but didn’t know how to continue.

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