Page 36 of Nightmare's Dance

“Technically, married.”

“I was afraid of that.”

He laughed. “We can fix some of this, but we will have to be careful how we go about doing it. We don’t want to get you trapped in Nightmare.”

“Baz mentioned something about being dreambound?”

“Yes. You are dreambound,” he said. “You’re just not stuck in Nightmare like most mortals that end up in Dream. It’s a rare occurrence that mortals cross over into the sleeping world unless someone is actively kidnapping circus performers.”

“So, Baz was right? Those girls can’t leave?”

“Correct.”

I sighed.

“So, if we are to rescue your knight, it is a good thing he’s one of us, or he’d be stuck there.”

I sighed harder. “I can’t believe—”

“You’re supposed to be trying to sleep,” Nic reminded me.

My mind was still racing, and I had no idea how to get it to shut down.

“There’s something I’m supposed to tell you.” I bolted upright and turned to look at Nic.

Something about the way he sat in the chair, watching me, or the angle he tilted his head, or the way the shadows swirled around him, something caught at my heart. I gasped, curling my fingers into the soft comforter, not sure what I wanted at that moment. Part of me wanted Nic. I’d never wanted anyone except Geraint before. The feeling thrummed through me like a line on one of my drawings that wasn’t quite right, but with a little work could become the focal point of a masterpiece.

“Ember,” he whispered, “it can wait until the morning.”

I pushed away the rogue feeling and flopped back into my bed, pulling the covers up to my chin. “Tell me a story, Nic.”

“Once upon a time,” he started.

I twisted around to look at him incredulously.

“All the best stories start that way, or so I’m told.” Nic smiled kindly at me.

“Okay.”

“As I was saying, once upon a time—”

***

Nic had slumped down in the rocking chair, appearing as a combination of shadows at his edges, and solid toward his center, fast asleep.

The sun filtered through my curtains, and I recalled he said he didn’t sleep much at night.

Moving quietly, so I wouldn’t wake him, I slid out of bed and went into the bathroom. I took my time cleaning up, showering and all that. I wasn’t sure I was ready to face the day.

Nic blinked at me sleepily from the rocking chair when I came back out dressed in yoga pants and a tank top. I was going to get into a lyra even if I couldn’t manage the silks yet. Baz would not take that away from me. I needed to work through my feelings. Just not twenty feet in the air.

“You can use my bed,” I offered, conflicted about that, but also not wanting him to sleep in a rocking chair.

“Thank you.”

I didn’t stay to see if he took me up on the offer, heading for the kitchen and a light breakfast.

Ash met me with a mug of coffee, which I clutched. “You’re the best.”

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