Page 66 of Nightmare's Dance

“Baz I’m going to kill. Screw the consequences,” Nic said. “I have no idea where Dio is.”

“Hmm, perhaps we need to find our primal prince. You might need help with Baz, after all. Especially if you aren’t going to claim your princess.”

“What does Ember have to do with it?” Nic sighed, as if conceding a point to the jester.

“Your powers, and her powers, will increase the more you share energy. That’s nearly the entire point of having a mortal partner, bringing human imagination in to refresh Dream and Nightmare.” Robby got up, clasped his hands behind his back, and paced on the other side of the room from us. “Baz won’t go down easily.”

Nic shrugged. “Then he’ll kill me, and maybe it’ll trigger a reset in the process.”

“A reset?” I asked. “You mentioned something about that before.”

“It’s the way new Dream and Nightmare princes and princesses are born, if you will. The energy comes together to create new ones. Usually it’s because the old ones have lost relevance to humanity.”

“So, there isn’t always a prince of shadows?”

“No. Fortunately, Baz, Dio, and I were formed of powerful fears that have remained relevant for most of humanity.”

“Well, cool, I guess.”

Geraint straightened. “Ember, did you remember to tell Prince Nic that Baz didn’t recognize you at all?”

“Yeah, of course I—shit. I was going to, but I got distracted, and then I forgot.”

“Baz did not recognize you at all?” Nic leaned forward.

“No. He had no idea I was the aerialist he was looking for.”

“Your highness,” Geraint said. “I honestly think if I hadn’t been with her, he wouldn’t have figured it out at all.”

“Yeah, and I guess along those same lines, I recognized I knew you somehow, even before the block on my memories faded away. I still have no sense of familiarity with Baz.” I threaded my fingers together to keep from fidgeting. “You said he should have been able to sense us when we were sneaking around the castle. What happened?”

Nic and Robby stared at each other, seeming to have a silent conversation.

“Well, this is very interesting.” Robby finally broke eye contact. “Perhaps not only do we need to find Dio, but we need to find the real Baz, too.”

“What do you mean?” Geraint asked.

“It is entirely possible that the man who has been parading around as Prince Baz for the last however many years is some sort of changeling. If so, the real Baz must be alive, or you likely would have noticed his demise.” Robby resumed pacing.

“That would explain a lot. I can sense his presence, but it’s not the same as it used to be,” Nic said. “Now I really wish I had slit his throat.”

“What do we do?” I glanced at Geraint. His brow furrowed as he thought.

“What we do is find The Lady in White and get you home,” Nic said. “I’m keeping the jester with me, but you and your knight don’t need to be involved with the search for either Dio or Baz. It’s too dangerous, and I can move faster on my own.”

I couldn’t argue with that, though I wanted to.

“Mmm, if you completed your bond with your princess, she could step through shadows just like you,” Robby suggested.

“You don’t know that,” Nic snapped.

“The possibility is very high.”

“She is not mine.” Nic glared at Robby. “And you need to stop suggesting otherwise.”

I noticed that not once had he said he didn’t want me. That twisted me up inside. I had Geraint. He was more than enough. He was perfect. Why do I want to go comfort Nic now?

Robby spread his hands in front of him. “Very well. Then we focus on The Lady and get Ember and Geraint home where they can go on with their lives. Though it appears you’ll have to search for a new manager.” He bowed sardonically. “My apologies.”

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