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Goosebumps prickled my arms. “You have no proof.”

“Don’t I? Would my knowing you recently saw Darius’s infamous spider nightmare suffice?”

For a moment her words startled my mind into silence. She couldn’t mean…since she could only read feelings, not minds, the only way she could know about my abilities was if Darius had told her…but surely he wouldn’t. But even as I adamantly tried to deny it, the truth seeped over me, sharp and poisonous. Despite my wanting anything more than to trust him, in the end Darius had betrayed me—a betrayal deeper and more painful after everything I’d confided in him.

I gritted my teeth. That. Conniving. Spiderweb.Creep.

“There’s no need to get upset.” Trinity patted my clenched fists, and this time I didn’t flinch away.

“We want to help you,” Blaze said. “There’s never been another gift like yours.”

“That’s right. We hate seeing you waste your potential. With your incredible abilities, you should have considerably more dream dust than this.” She lightly tapped my locket with her orange fingernail. While this morning I’d been pleased with my increased amount, it now seemed pathetically small under these Nightmares’ scrutinizing gazes. “First, you must better understand dreams. What do you know about them?”

“They’re created by Weavers and are comprised of sensory details woven together with magic, which creates a story that unfolds for the Mortal while they sleep.” My voice was a monotone, all emotion drained out of me at the news about what Darius had done. Her revelation only confirmed what I’d longed not to be true—my friends were right to warn me to stay away from Darius.

Trinity sighed. “Such limited knowledge. Of course it’s notyourfault, Eden dear. After all, you weren’t raised in the Dream World, nor did you attend the Academy. Considering you’re the only one who can see dreams, you of anyone should know that they’re so muchmore. Without your ability, we’d all believe dreams vanished immediately after they’re viewed. But thanks to you, we know they exist afterwards, and not only that…”

“They can be entered,” I said.

Trinity’s eyes glistened. “Exactly. This reveals an unbelievable and previously unknown truth: dreams aren’t stories, they’re worlds.”

I gaped at her. “Worlds?”

“It’s impossible for anyone to enter a merestory, but if dreams are separate worlds, not only can they be entered, they can beexplored.” Her eyes glistened even as her fingers dug into my arm. “You have access to places no one else does. That’s a power you could use to win every Weaving you ever perform, and the key to remaining in our world forever.”

For a moment, hope warmed me at her incredible suggestion…until it was crushed when a warning niggled me for my attention: despite my wanting to believe her, Nightmares weren’t to be trusted—Darius had singlehandedly destroyed any hope of that.

But Iwantedto believe her. My time in the Dream World had taught me that Weaving wasn’t the glorious profession I’d previously envisioned; it was grueling and merciless. I was tired of being a magical pauper forced to ration my magic, the constant drought of ideas, my sore fingers after hours of weaving a week, and the painstakingly long hours it took to plan and construct a dream, only for it to be crushed by another of Darius’s nightmares.

I leaned closer, eager for the secret that would ensure my place here. “How would I do that?”

Blaze smirked, which should have been a warning to me, but Trinity’s smile was less triumphant, as if she truly had my best interests at heart; my unease slipped away.

“I don’t have an answer to that. You’re the dream explorer; you tell me.”

I nibbled my lip, considering. “I’m not sure it’s possible to explore a dream; whenever I enter a dream, it unfolds just like a story, my own agency eclipsed by the Mortal’s. It’s impossible to break away.”

“Just because you’ve never done it doesn’t mean it’s impossible,” Trinity said. “You have more magic than you realize. Dreams are unique places created entirely from the Weaver’s imagination. As such, they undoubtedly contain fascinating locations with unusual objects that would yield unspeakable powers should you be able to capture them.”

Although it almost seemed too good to be true, the possibilities tantalized my thoughts. And yet everything else I’d tried with my captured dreams had failed. Why would this be any different?

Trinity’s elated expression darkened as she read my unwelcome doubt. “I’ve searched your heart. I know how much you yearn for a place in this world, but you want more than to prove yourself—you want tobesomeone.”

It was as if my heart was laid before her as she explored every bit of its contents like a book she perused. If she was right about my desires, could she also be right about the extent of my power? Did the key I’d been searching for ever since arriving in the Dream World exist within dreams?

I yearned to linger and further explore this fantastic idea, but our time had come to a close. “Eden!”

Angel, Iris, and our clouds had finally found us. Stardust immediately morphed into ropes and wrapped herself securely around me. “I was so worried; I was certain they’d done something awful to you.” She tugged me away from the Nightmares, who made no motion to retain me.

“It was simply a friendly conversation,” Trinity said. “Nothing to be alarmed over. We’ll see you later, Eden.” With that, she and Blaze disappeared into the crowd.

Chapter 26

“What in flying comets was that all about?” Angel asked as she dragged me away from the Nightmares, her grip so tight I was sure it'd leave a bruise. I followed numbly, still stunned by what Darius had done. “You can’t believe anything they told you; Nightmares can’t be trusted, particularly Blaze. Did he try to get you to tell him my weaving strategies so he can beat me more?”

Why did Angel immediately assume that any Nightmare who talked to me was only using me? “He didn’t even ask about you,” I said curtly.

“Then what did you talk about?”