Page 76 of Nightmare's Dance

I shivered and glanced up at Geraint. He nodded.

Geraint and I helped Nic to his feet, arms draped over our shoulders. He at least looked human at the moment. Though, that actually wasn’t a good thing, because he typically didn’t look human unless he was trying.

My stomach twisted with worry as we helped the Nightmare prince stumble from the cabin and through the forest.

Nic spent all his energy walking, breath rasping harshly.

We hesitated at the edge of the forest. The sun beat down, raising a humid haze over the gardens. Sweat ran along my spine and beaded on my brow. The shower I’d taken earlier was basically useless at this point. Nic had felt light when he’d landed on me, but dragging him through the forest had let me know exactly how tall and heavy he really was. Nic was taller than Geraint and had a good six inches on me.

“I don’t think we can keep you out of the sun,” I said. “Do you want me to run and get a blanket?”

“No,” Nic rasped. “It’ll be okay. Just get me inside.”

He flinched when we stepped from the shade. Geraint and I picked up our pace as much as we could, and Nic stumbled along with us. The sunlight faded out what color he’d regained in his skin, and he sagged in our grip.

“Spark!” Ash yelled.

We kept going. “It’s Nic. Get the door? Clear the den?”

She raced ahead. I loved my cousin so much.

By the time we made it to the house, no one occupied the living area. Ash held the door and shut it behind us.

Nic sighed in relief once we were out of the sun. The cool air conditioning felt amazing after the humidity, giving me a little extra spring to help drag Nic back to my room. Ash hurried down the hallway ahead of us to get the door.

We got Nic in my room, and she shut the door behind us. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. You saw Mary in the mirror over the fireplace?”

“No, I missed that moment of reliving childhood terror,” she said dryly.

“She’s injured,” I said, as we got the prince into my bed.

“She might not have made it,” Nic gasped. “She was hurt badly helping me, and they were coming after her. I don’t”—he coughed—“I don’t know how they did it, but they set loose some sort of demon in the mirror realm.”

The effort of getting that out exhausted him, and he fell back, eyes shut.

I pulled away from the prince. Once my touch left him, tremors wracked Nic’s body.

“Ember, crawl into bed with Prince Nic and wrap yourself around him. He needs you,” Geraint said.

I did what Geraint told me, and Nic quieted.

“What do we do?”

“Does he eat?” Ash asked. “I know I’ve seen him consume food, but does he actually need to eat?”

“I do,” Geraint said with a shrug. “But I’m not sure how that translates to a true Nightmare dweller.”

“Let me get you something like broth, and I’ll bring dinner for the two of you,” Ash said.

“Bring a bunch of water, too?” I asked.

“I will. Knight, come help me, please.”

Geraint glanced at me, and I nodded, so they left.

I snuggled tighter around the prince, throwing a leg over his hip and resting my head on his shoulder.

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