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I fidgeted beneath her piercing stare. “They wanted to see how I was doing and offer me additional weaving advice.”

Angel gaped at me. “But they’reNightmares. Why would they care whether or not you win Weavings?”

My voice wavered as I spun my lie. “Trinity harbors a grudge against Darius.” My heart lurched just to mention his name. “Apparently he got them in trouble with the Nightmare Council, and now they want him to lose in order to weaken his power.”

Iris’s brow puckered thoughtfully. “It’s unusual, but their motive seems solid.”

Angel frowned, clearly unconvinced. “Despite their claims, they obviously have a more sinister motive. I don’t care how much they hate Eden’s partner—no Nightmare offers to assist a Dreamer to beat one of their own kind unless they want something in exchange.” Angel’s glare sharpened. “Did they ask for anything?”

“No.” But I bit my lip. Had I been too quick to accept Trinity’s theories? Was her interest only because she wanted to use my abilities for herself?

Both Angel and Iris seemed like they wanted to say more—Angel’s expression in particular suggested an upcoming rant—but thankfully I was spared any further interrogation when she spotted someone in the crowd. She lit up. “Caspian.”

I’d never better appreciated the perfect timing of her Pair than now. He approached on his foamy blue cloud. Angel’s grumpiness vanished in an instant as she rushed over to embrace him.

Caspian leapt gracefully off his cloud. “Hi, Sugarplum.” His arms looped around Angel’s waist to nestle her against him. He sobered when he noticed the lingering anger in her pink eyes. “You’re a bit tense. Are you alright?”

“Just an unpleasant encounter with Blaze.”

Caspian’s entire manner was immediately protective. “What did he do?”

She sighed and snuggled closer. “I just hate being around him.”

“I know.” He stroked Angel’s magenta hair. “I have just the place to take you in order to cheer you up.”

Angel tilted her head so her gaze met his. Although they exchanged no words, an entire symphony of conversation seemed to pass between them.

As I watched the couple, a group of Dreamers shuffled by, munching on candy apples. As the alluring sweet caramel scent washed over me, for a split second I imagined myself enfolded inDarius’sarms, him cradling me close the same way Caspian held Angel…before the image slipped away.

He’s a Nightmare, I reminded myself over and over again, but the reminder did little to dispel my longings or my hurt.

Angel stroked Caspian’s cheek and managed to sever their connection long enough to turn towards us. “Do you mind if I go with him?”

Iris’s starry-eyed gaze only brightened. “Not at all. It’s my turn to manage the cultivating display anyway. You don’t mind being alone, do you, Eden?”

“No,” I lied.

“Don’t forget I’m still here,” Stardust said sourly. Great, now I was stuck dealing with a sulky cloud. She turned the force of her bad mood on me the moment we were alone. “Finally. I didn’t think I could remain silent a moment longer.”

I was still scowling after Iris and Angel and was in no mood for Stardust’s usual cryptic manner. “What are you talking about?”

“The Nightmares you talked with, obviously,” she said. “Did you honestly think I would let you go off with them by yourself? Please. I’m more loyal than that.”

“But I didn’t see—”

"Need I remind you I'm a morpher and can shrink to any size I want?” she said. “I onlypretendedlike I didn’t know what was going on in order to protect your secret, an act which was agonizing considering I have my detective reputation to uphold.”

Her revelation only deepened my bad mood. I pressed my hands to my hips. “If you were there, why didn’t you intervene?”

“Don’t you know anything about being undercover? If I’d interjected, I wouldn’t have been able to discover what those Nightmares were up to. And speaking of which…” Stardust’s suspicious gaze scanned the surrounding crowd, searching for eavesdroppers. “How did those Nightmares learn about your ability to see dreams? I don’t believe for a moment Trinity read it in your heart. Her powers seem limited to reading emotions, not minds.”

I gritted my teeth. “Darius.”

“And how did Spiderweb figure it out? Don’t tell meyoutold him.”

“I accidentally stumbled into one of his nightmares a few Weavings ago, and I wasn’t exactly vague about what I’d seen. I thought he believed my coverup, but I should have known he was too clever to have fallen for it.”

Stardust groaned. “I told you a gazillion times not to dream-watch during Weavings, but did you listen to me? You’ve given that Nightmare another piece of crucial evidence against you. And now that he’s started spilling your secrets, you’ll be kicked out of the Dream World by dusk.”