Queen of Stars and Shadows (Dark Fae Guardian #3)

Sarielle

Chapter Seven

Sarielle

T he abrupt shift from shadowy dreamscape to harsh, bright light is as jarring physically as it is heart-wrenching. Zyren had been connecting with me. If only I’d had more time…

But we didn’t, and right now I can’t focus on that.

My eyes blink rapidly to adjust, and as my vision clears, my stomach drops.

I’m standing in a vast, snowy plain, a dark forest directly in front of me. A forest I’d recognize anywhere. Because, last time I was here, I made a deal that damned my soul, and all of Valaron.

A voice rings from the forest as if the trees are trumpets, as if the forest is a part of her.

“Trying to escape, little queen? Our deal still stands, whether you’re in Valaron or Eldare.”

I see movement on the edge of the trees, and the outline of a misshapen figure moves in the shadows. Like the first time I saw her, she’s indistinct, as if a sheet of ice separates us. Parts of her look beautiful—pale skin, a flash of a sapphire eye, lustrous black hair. But other parts of her look as if they are rotting…gray flesh, a flash of black teeth, a scalp that has chunks of hair missing. A shiver of terror moves over me.

“I had to escape Avonia,” I call, trying to keep my voice steady. “I didn’t know I was leaving Valaron.”

“A convenient story,” the demon hisses, and the ice hanging from the tree branches shivers. After a moment, the trees go still. “If you are not in Valaron, I consider our bargain reneged. You cannot reclaim your throne when you’re hiding in another realm.”

“And what if I can’t reclaim my throne?” A hint of anger rings in my voice. “The odds are stacked against me. If I fail, then I can’t give you what we bargained for.”

The whole forest shakes this time, and a sound like cracking ice swirls around the frigid air toward me. I realize with a wave of horror that she’s laughing at me.

“Foolish, na?ve little girl. If you fail to uphold your end of the bargain, that means I don’t just get to be free from my forest for a night, to roam as I please, it means I get to be free forever .”

My heart stops. “That wasn’t part of our agreement!”

“Oh, but it was! You simply failed to inquire on the details of the terms. So desperate were you to save yourself and your friends and the one you love, you didn’t even think to ask.” A chuckle that sounds like bone against bone. “You figured you’d find a way out of our little deal, didn’t you?”

“N-no… that’s not it…”

“Lies, girl. Remember, I am a demon, I am master of lies. You cannot fool me. Do. Not. Try. ”

My mind spins, the realization of the repercussions of this making my breath come too rapidly, my heart beat too fast. “I’m trying my best to reclaim my throne. I will be back in Valaron soon.”

“Five days,” the demon coos. “Five days to not only be back in Valaron, but sitting on the throne of the Court of Nightmares, or our deal is broken and you must pay the price.”

“A timeline was also never discussed! You can’t—”

“I can and I will , little queen.” Another ripple of icy laughter from the forest. “By the by, where is that love of yours?”

I can feel the color leaving my face, the sting of tears at the corners of my eyes.

“Was it worth it? Or do you wish you had died here? Might have been simpler than what is to come…”

And then, just as abruptly, I’m plunged back into my purple-and-shadow-hued dreamscape. Zyren is gone. There’s nothing but darkness punctuated by the occasional swirl of mist. My heart beats so loudly in this dim, muffled place that it sounds like war drums. The fine tremor that had started in my limbs intensifies to a full-on shaking.

My hands curl into fists at my sides and a scream forces its way out of my throat, echoing through the shadows.

Things just keep getting worse. They’d gone from bleak to bad to absolutely impossible. How can I fix all the things that are so very, horribly wrong in only five days? Knowing that, at best, if I somehow manage to succeed, it means I let that evil, vile creature free to wreak havoc on Valaron one night a year?

One night had been horrifying enough. But every night? For eternity?

She’s right. I should have let us die there in that forest. Me, Zyren, Owyn, and Merla. Poor Merla had ended up sacrificing herself days later anyway. She’d had the strength to do what I could not.

But if we’d died there that day in the ice forest, then there would be no one to challenge Avonia.

And if we’d died there that day, I would never have had the chance to hear Zyren tell me he loves me, and never had the chance to tell him I loved him in return.

I don’t know if either of those things truly matter. Avonia will likely win anyways, and enslave all of Valaron, Eldare, and possibly the rest of Aureon. And Zyren may never regain his memories—or worse, his love may be a death sentence.

But hope matters.

If I’d died that day, that hope would have died, too. At least now I have time to make it right, as impossible as that seems. Five more days to be exact. It feels as if I have a giant clock looming over my head, its hands already moving, every moment, closer to my doom.

I don’t know how I’m going to resolve any of this. I can only focus on the next step before me, which is finding Lilette and the nightmares. New resolve burning in my chest, I pull her into my mind. Golden hair, warm brown eyes. A laugh that could win anyone, a laugh to fight wars over. I may have failed Merla, but I will not fail Lilette.

My dreamscape shifts, and I find myself somewhere else. The mist is so thick here I can barely see anything, not even my hand when I wave it in front of my face. Almost as if someone is trying to mask this place, which of course, makes perfect sense if you’re a nightmare. I strain through the grayish clouds, but I can’t see anything that would shed light on where they are.

A shriek cuts through the darkness, not far off, making me jump. Then comes the sound of rending flesh, and a wet, dripping sound that makes my stomach turn. Another shriek, this time closer. I focus my thoughts on a blade for protection, and a moment later I feel the cold hilt of a steel sword form in my hand. My magic may not work well outside of this place, but here, in dreams, I can create anything. And here, I am the hunter.

I debate banishing the fog but decide to keep the element of surprise as I creep toward the nightmares. I am soundless as I move, my beating heart the only giveaway. But then my boots slide in something slick, and I look down to see a pool of crimson over gray stones. Blood, and strands of thick, golden hair.

The scream rips from my throat before I can stop it.

I spin as a dozen resounding shrieks answer it, coming from every direction. Snarls and the beating of thick, leathery wings, and the scrape of claws over stone, all rushing toward me. In my panic, I slip again in the blood and fall backward, hitting the stone floor so hard my vision spins and my dream blade falls from my hand, clattering away from me.

My hand flings skyward as the nightmares descend upon me.

Wake up, wake up, wake up!

Another scream pours out as teeth rip into the flesh of my leg, my shoulder, my chest…

“Sarielle!”

Owyn shakes me violently, but I’m already snapping upright. I punch outward and he ducks. Zara and Asher on are their feet and around the fire in an instant. I wrap my arms around myself, my fingers fluttering over my skin, confirming that I’m still whole. They come away wet with blood from my neck, and another deep scrape on my arm.

“Are you okay?” Zara asks sharply. “What happened?”

“Nightmares,” I gasp.

“They can injure you in your sleep?” Asher asks incredulously.

“I have more powerful dreams than others.” My shaking begins to slow, and my heart slows as well. The first hint of dawn lightens the horizon, and I focus on that light, drawing in deep, calming breaths for several moments. Then I point toward the horses. “Let’s get mounted up.”

Owyn shakes his head. “Don’t you think you need a minute?”

“No,” I say. In that last moment of my dream, as the nightmares had begun to tear my flesh, I’d shifted all the mist of the dreamscape so I could see. “Because I know where the nightmares are now.”