Page 30 of Nightmare's Dance

“Ahh. I like it.” Nic stepped out of the shadow and put his hand over the light switch. “I’m recovered if you would prefer lights.”

“Unlike you, shadow boy, we can’t see in the dark,” Ash replied.

He flipped on the lights, wincing a little but otherwise seeming unaffected by the artificial illumination.

“To answer your question, Nic is short for Nyctophobia. I’m the embodiment of the fear of the dark or the unknown.”

“So, the fear of the dark has a Kiwi accent?” She grinned at Nic.

He shrugged. “In this lifetime I do.”

“Okay, Nic, why are you not excited about the idea of helping me rescue Geraint? Because I don’t know if I can do it without you, and I need him back.” I twisted my hands together. There was so much we needed to figure out, but this was the most important. At least to me.

“His job was to keep you safe. He’s essentially fulfilled that duty. You’re safe. As soon as we find an appropriate mirror, I can try to sneak back into Nightmare, and hopefully, you can avoid further notice.” Nic was studying the gym equipment and didn’t see the color drain from my face when he confirmed what I’d suspected.

“What do you mean?” Ash demanded.

“The one you call Geraint is a knight, created from dream essence to fulfill a purpose. In this case, protecting our princess.” Nic turned just in time to grab my arm and keep me on my feet as my world tilted.

“But he’s real,” I blurted, sagging in Nic’s grasp.

“And what do you mean, princess?” Ash demanded.

“The knight is real enough,” Nic allowed. “And Ember is Nightmare’s princess, and you may be the key to stopping this nothingness, but I find that highly unlikely. Therefore, there is no need for you to return to a place you have no wish to be, and there is no need for you to trouble yourself about the knight.”

“Geraint is my best friend. Well, him and Ash. I’m not going to just walk away from him, even if he is some sort of nightmare person.” I stomped my foot. “And what the hell do you mean I’m the princess? That’s not even possible.”

Nic released my arm and twisted away, momentarily dissolving into shadow before reforming a few feet away.

“We were children. We’d found an unguarded mirror, and Mary let us through. I told you this. The four of us played as often as we could, as your world was safer and much more entertaining. Do you recall one day when you got back from a vacation to see one of your relatives married?”

“Yeah, I think I do.” Chills traveled down my spine, and my hands trembled. I thought I knew where he was going with this.

“Well, it turns out when a human child plays at having a wedding with the child princes of Nightmare, it’s binding,” he continued bitterly.

“I take it you didn’t know?”

“No, of course not,” he snapped. “None of us did until a couple of years later.”

“Oh.” I twisted my hands together and stared at the floor. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not anyone’s fault,” Ash said. “I take it you found out the hard way?”

“You could say that.” Nic didn’t elaborate. “Still, the knight was created to keep you safe after our mistake was discovered. We were also forbidden from using the arches. Which is why we vanished from your life.”

I sighed. “This is a lot.”

Ash put her arms around me, and I leaned against her.

“So, what do we do?”

“I told you. We find a mirror, and get Mary to sneak me back into Nightmare. I’ll make it seem like you were killed when escaping, and hopefully, Baz will turn his attention elsewhere.”

“Nic, we have to rescue Geraint.”

The prince took a deep breath. “Why?”

“He’s my partner. I need him.” I didn’t even try to hide the desperation I felt at the thought of losing Geraint.

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