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“I brought you pheasant pie.” I keep my voice steady, my fingers tightening on the bag.

He leans in, his voice a low, wicked murmur. “That’s not all I’d like to taste.”

Heat blooms in my core, and my pulse races for him.

This close, Talan’s power thrums over me, and his scent makes my thoughts turn desperate. This man could have me in a heartbeat if he wanted it.

And judging by the curve of his lips, he knows it, too.

CHAPTER 34

Talan and I sit on soft blankets by the fire, and its golden glow flickers over the cottage’s walls. Moonlight streams through mullioned windows, casting silver diamond shapes on the floor. I’m letting my thick wool dress dry by the fire, clad instead in a yellow silk gown Talan packed for me.

I glance over at him as he stares at the fire and tries to concentrate on his magic. He’s close enough that I can feel the alluring pull of his power against my skin—a sensual, sultry stroke on my skin that makes my spine straighten and goosebumps rise on my arms.

Talan closes his eyes, and the firelight shifts over his beautiful features.

“He’s already dreaming,” he says quietly. “I can sense it now. Are you ready?”

I take a deep breath. “I’m ready.”

He opens his eyes, and his dark gaze slides to me. “Remember, even if dreams aren’t reality, they can still hurt you. The rules are never the same, and I have no idea what we may find in Kahedin’s sick and fevered mind.” He leans in closer, andthe warm light sculpts his cheekbones. His lips curl faintly. “Do you think you can handle a nightmare with me?”

“I’ll be fine.” I know firsthand how dangerous Talan can be.

Months ago, when I was still a cadet in Avalon Tower, he’d trapped me in a waking nightmare. He hadn’t seen me, but he could sense my mind. He knew that I’d stolen a map from him, and he locked me in a nightmarish world, demanding the map back from me. He’d nearly drowned me.Little telepath,he’d called me, while he dragged me under the icy sea into a whirlpool.

Little telepath. I will drown you, and you’ll wish you were dead, but you’ll keep drowning, unable to breathe, water filling your lungs. In dreams, death cannot save you.

A shiver runs down my spine. He still has no idea I was the map thief, the telepath he’d been searching for. I’ve been shielding my mind against him ever since.

“While I take you into his dream with me,” Talan says quietly, “I won’t be able to control the dream as well as I normally can. We’ll have to blend into his dream and adapt to whatever is happening in it. We can’t disrupt his own narrative too much. Every action you make is like a stone tossed in a placid lake, making eddies and ripples. If it causes too much disturbance, the dream can become unstable. Don’t fight against the dream current. Try to move with it. If Kahedin dreams that he’s a bird, we’ll also become birds. If Kahedin dreams that he is riding a horse through a meadow, we might ride horses, too.”

“What if it’s a sex dream?” I whisper.

A smile whispers over his lips. “Then I will make sure you enjoy it.”

“And what if we end up separated?”

“I will find you, little wife, wherever you go. But when we reach Kahedin, I need you to enter his mind and force him to agree to the letter I sent him. Can you do that?”

“I can do that in the dream,” I say, “but I can’t be sure he’ll follow through in real life when he wakes up. My power usually works only so long as I maintain connection.”

“It should work,” Talan says. “Dreams are powerful. As long as you really imprint the notion in his mind that he must do it, he’ll do it when he wakes up. Trust me.”

I nod. “Okay. I can do that.”

“Good. Take my hand.”

I take his hand in mine, my heart quickening.

“Watch the flames.” Talan’s voice is low and hypnotic. “Imagine your body becoming lighter. You are drifting into mist, floating along with the clouds above Lake Avalon.”

I stare at the fire, an ember floating up. I follow it with my eyes, and the world grows dimmer as Talan’s magic whispers around me, kissing my skin. Even now, I intuitively try to maintain the veil in my mind, but he doesn’t try to intrude. Instead, he gently leads me away from my body and into the dream world.

The worldaround me swims into focus. I’m in a garden, and warm sun spreads over my skin. It’s clearly summer here, and enormous roses are in full bloom around me. Rue and marigolds blossom, and hawthorns and mulberry trees line the path leading up to a white palace. Fish swim in a little pond, and the water glitters under the summer sky. Bees hum in the air, and blackbirds warble in the boughs. A warm breeze whispers over my bare thighs.

Talan stands next to me, taking in the scene. “I didn’t imagine Kahedin would dream of beauty like this. He always seems like such a soulless twat.”