Page 48 of Nightmare's Dance

Nic glanced at me. “She’ll have to trust me.”

I nodded, not brave enough to speak, but willing to do what he wanted.

“Wrap your legs around my waist and your arms around my shoulders, and hang on.”

He supported me while I did what he instructed. The move wasn’t difficult. I’d done it many times over the years with Geraint. Nic was slimmer, but just as strong.

“If you have to shut your eyes, it’s okay,” he said before moving through the shadows, using them to slide up the wall and into the shadow essence that had always hung thick on the ceilings when I’d been here just a few days before.

It wrapped around us, concealing us from view.

Robby moved differently than we were, and I lost track of him quickly. He blended in with the surroundings like he had some sort of cloaking device from a sci-fi movie. For all I knew, he did. When the doors opened, Nic was ready to slip through them. I guessed he would have had an easier time leaving the room without me hindering him.

The guards outside looked around, but, seeing no one, went back to their blank, gray-eyed stare.

The shadows that lurked along the ceiling were thicker than I’d expected, easily hiding us from view with room to spare. Nic crawled through the black mist, fingers sinking into the substance, or possibly melding with it. I couldn’t be sure. He crawled as if he were a spider on the ceiling, but through the shadows instead. I lay on his chest, legs and arms wrapped around him, head resting on his shoulder and staring below us, feeling detached from reality. Of course, I was in the land of dreams, so that tracked.

“Are you doing okay, Spark?” Nic whispered.

“Yeah, I think so. You?” I almost asked him if he was hanging in there, but decided it probably wasn’t time for joking. A handful of the weird gray guards passed beneath us, and I tightened my grip on Nic. He remained mostly solid, grunting softly when I clamped down, but my legs sank into his waist a little.

We weren’t alone, so I didn’t apologize, not wanting to risk someone overhearing my whispers. That my harsh pants hadn’t already given us away was some kind of miracle.

“Not far,” Nic whispered, voice tight with the strain of carrying me through the shadows. Or maybe he was simply unhappy about the entire situation.

The hallway narrowed as Nic took us down a side corridor. He paused and moments later I heard the clatter of boots on stone.

Nic went rigid, barely breathing, and I tightened my grip further. Baz, followed by an entire group of those gray-people guards, stomped into view.

As if trying to give me a heart attack, Baz jerked to a halt and spun around, staring back the way he’d come—the same way we were going.

“That damn knight,” Baz snarled. “If we didn’t need it for bait to draw that bitch back, I’d end it now.”

Fury roared through me, and I practically saw red. I must have moved, ready to launch myself at Baz and claw his eyes out, if nothing else. Shadow tendrils wrapped around me, fastening me to Nic and covering my mouth so I couldn’t let loose the snarl of rage barely contained behind my lips.

“Shh, luv, rescue the knight first, revenge later,” Nic whispered in my ear.

Trembling in reaction, but knowing Nic was right, I tried to settle against his chest while we hid. Even knowing who Baz was, I still felt no recognition when I looked at him.

Baz snarled at the gray man standing next to him for a bit longer, then spun on his heels and stormed off, the gray people following.

Nic finally took a full breath.

“He can’t see us up here, can he?”

“He should have sensed both myself and the jester, not to mention you.”

“Really?”

The shadowy prince nodded and resumed his crawl through the black mist.

Icy fear crept along my spine, replacing the passionate fury that had warmed me. What had Baz done to Geraint? Was he okay? What kind of trap had Baz laid and what were we about to walk into?

I was about to find out.

Nic

It took most of my self-control to keep certain parts of my anatomy from letting Ember know exactly how much I enjoyed having her cradled against my chest while I worked my way through the shadows.

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