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No reply came.

Get it together,she scolded herself. You’re an enchantress.

Could she not allow herself a moment of weakness even in her dreams? She always had to be strong, always had to have an answer, a solution—or people would die. The humans of Shadowbank wouldn’t be reassured by anything other than confidence. And that was exactly what she strived for.

Still, she longed to crumple into herself, to scream until her lungs were raw, and to justfeel.

Unlike before, she didn’t just have the safety of Shadowbank to consider. Now, she had someone she wanted to protect.

She’d found something she’d never expected to in her lifetime—hermate.Her perfect match in every way. Somehow, she’d found her counterpart in a demon. Would she ever have a chance to be by his side again? Or would Magnus kill one or both of them first?

Somehow, she had to find a way to save Elias and her home.

“Elias,” she whispered into the darkness as more tears tumbled down her cheeks. “Please.”

She didn’t know what she was asking. All she knew was that she longed to feel his touch with every fiber of her being.

There was a shift in the darkness behind her, and she turned toward it.

For a moment, it felt like time slowed. A single tear rolled down her cheek as her chest rose and fell with a single breath.

Elias stood before her, utterly naked.

His light brown skin shone with an otherworldly gray-blue light. A different shimmer glowed in the depths of his eyes, which turned from a dark brown to a brilliant blue—as though a flame had taken form there.

From experience, she knew what the change in the color of his eyes meant.

He was eager to feed.

Black hair came to his bare shoulders and was more disheveled than she’d ever seen it. Curls stuck out in every direction, and there were dark smudges beneath his eyes like he hadn’t slept in days. His high cheekbones were sharper, and even though his beard was longer now, it couldn’t hide the gauntness in his cheeks.

I’m projecting my fears into this landscape, she thought.

Even still, he was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

Another tear slipped free as she said, “You’re here.”

He closed the distance between them in an instant.

Hands were in her unbound hair, fingers slipping between the strands at the back of her head. He pulled, forcing her to tilt her chin upward. She opened to him willingly, and his tongue ravished her mouth. The way he moved… It was like he needed to explore every inch of her. To know her body.

He ran his teeth over her lower lip, nipping gently. Then he pulled back, his arms looping loosely around her and his hands stroking.

But when his lips moved, no sounds came.

She frowned. “What?”

Again, his lips formed words, but the dark world around them was completely silent.

Lines formed between her brows. “I can’t understand you.”

What could this phantom Elias be trying to tell her? She studied his mouth, but she was unskilled with reading lips.

It was just a dream, she knew. But she longed to hear his voice all the same. She hungered for any words from her mate.

Elias shook his head before he crashed into her once more. His lips found hers in a feverish frenzy, moving like he intended to claim her, to remind her who she belonged to.

My heart is yours,she thought as she melted into his touch, feeling his arms wrap around her back. He pulled her in so she was pressed against him, and she felt every line of his body. The muscles rippling along his abdomen. The way his chest heaved. It was as though he was breathing her in…