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Sweet Dreams

The last words I’d heard from his mouth had been sweet. His prison of dreams was sweeter still.

In it, there was no Morrigan. No curse. No bets to tear us apart or kingdoms hanging in the balance. In my dreams, there was only us.

Damian and Nell.

Visions of happiness and passion, twisted in bedsheets. Dreams of matching rings, and the cheer of friends bumping forks on crystal rims. A mirage of a family that existed only in this perfect, impossible place.

A loving hand on my round belly, and echoes of baby giggles that would never be.

Until the dreams faded, and the nightmares became real.

Chapter 42

Morheim

“Nell, wake up! Wake up—wake up—wake up.” Hot sobs rumble over my stomach, wet and gooey. Each of them is punctuated by a hard blow to my breast bone, and my lids twitch.

The familiar voice drags me from the sweet, treacherous slumber the Shadow King imposed on me. Gone is my lover, the drugging scent of him replaced by the smell of heavy salt, vinegar, and bitter almonds.

Hurried footsteps echo up the hallway, and a gush of cold air reaches my cheeks. “Don’t touch the body, princess. It’s not safe.”

“Stay back!” Cece’s nails dig into my chest. “You’ve been keeping her from me, acting like she’s already dead, but she still breathes.”

“You shouldn’t be in here, child. How did you sneak past the guards?” A patient voice asks, the gentle tone sweet and yet menacing. “Your sister’s spirit is already with our beloved Mother.”

The hard, more masculine voice draws closer. “There’s nothing you can do for her now. The priest is here to end her misery.”

“You take one more step toward my sister, and I will end you,” Cece says.

My mouth is pasty and painful, but I finally manage to move my lips. “Cece?” I breathe.

“Nell? Nell, can you hear me?”

I fail to blink, my lids too heavy to obey, like a river of sand has been poured over my eyes to hold them closed. “Cece? Is that you?”

“Yes, Nell. I’m here.” She presses her forehead to mine, and a wave of wet tears slides down the slope of my neck. “I’m here.”

“We have to leave at once, princess. That creature is not your sister. Your sister is dead,” the guard pleads with her, his voice thick with fear. “Let the priest deal with the demons that took over her body.”

“Get out!” Cece shouts, inches from my ears.

Her small arms grip my shoulders, and I finally manage to open my eyes. Cece is curled like a wounded beast around my lifeless body. Her eyes are red, and her hair is sticking out in all directions, making her look like a very pissed off, very dangerous cat.

The guard reaches out for her. “You need to come with me at once.”

The priest touches his forehead and chin in a silent plea. “She’s been touched by the devil, too.”

Cece squints at them, feral. “I said get out!” An inhuman shriek reverberates off the walls, and a forceful wind blasts them both out of the room. They pirouette and tumble to the hallway like paper dolls caught in the breeze, and the door slams shut behind them.

Magic ripples through the air, strong and wild, and I know none of it came from me.

I gawk at her. My Cece. “Did you just do that?”

“It’s really you.” She hits my chest again with her small fists. “They told me you were dead.”

I wince at the pain, and a bit of life returns to my extremities. “I—I don’t know what happened—” One minute, I was in the Shadow King’s bedroom, and the next…