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He threw me out of my sunlit zone, into a darker circle of my consciousness. That careless act of violence – so easy for him – would have destroyed anyone but a dreamwalker. My silver cord stretched, as supple as ever, but the shock left me in a heap on the ground.

As Cade stepped into my rightful place, I had an overpowering urge to sleep, to relinquish control of my body. I would have welcomed it, in that moment. I felt as if his fingerprints were smeared all over me.

His dream-form grew still as he looked through my eyes. The sight of it jolted me back to my senses. I forced myself up and sprinted towards him. With all my strength, I dived at him, wrestling him for control of my body, trying to keep his attention on my dreamscape. I was no amaurotic – I could put up a good fight – but Cade had done this so many times, and I was battling the urge to let him take the wheel.

I could just see through my own eyes, though my vision faltered: Cade was pointing my revolver at Jaxon. With a supreme effort, I wrenched the gun to the left. Jaxon started as it went off, his eyebrows shooting up.

‘Really, darling?’

‘Paige.’ Nick gripped my shoulders. ‘Paige, is that you or him in there?’

‘Me,’ I ground out, but the ventriloquist had my chin on a hinge. ‘It’s … me, Nick.’

I had never experienced a horror like not having control of my own jaw and tongue. His words in my mouth.

My hand on the knife.

He worked a blade from my holster, every inch he gained sending a bolt of pain along my fingers. My body, fighting back against the puppeteer.

Nick was concentrating on my face. He wouldn’t see the blade coming until it was too late. I looked into his eyes, hoping he could see my warning, sense the battle for control.

And then I had a sudden, desperate idea.

I only had one spectre in my dreamscape. One memory so harrowing that it had crawled free of the ground. It should have reacted to an intruder, but I went to great lengths, every hour of my life, to keep that memory from taking hold. I had pinned it in the hadal zone.

Now I focused on that memory with all my might. Arcturus had made it fresh, so it was easier to remember the tight grip of themanacles, the water filling my chest, the foul taste and the cold as it sliced down my throat. Suhail stood above me, his eyes turning red.

Perhaps the Underqueen would care for a drink.

The spectre moved. So did my hand, jolting closer to Nick. It shook as I resisted Cade.

You are nothing.

In my dreamscape, the spectre lifted Cade clean off the ground, distracting him from the physical world. He stared into its leaking eyes, and I knew that he was seeing my dark room, suffocating on my fear. His spirit went rigid, then limp. His silver cord gleamed once, and he vanished, leaving me to shudder.

The spectre retreated into the dark. I lurched back into my sunlit zone, and my eyes snapped open.

‘Paige,’ Nick said. His voice was muffled. ‘Paige, is that you?’

‘Get back. He almost—’ I shoved his chest. ‘Stay away from me, Nick. Help the Ranthen.’

‘What happened?’

Cade had fallen to one knee. The pain in my head when I dreamwalked was bad enough, but the agony of his intrusion was so much worse. My eyes watered.

He couldn’t have orders to kill me, or I would already be dead. That would be an unforgivable waste. He wanted me weak enough that the Rephs could collect me and carry me off.

For now, however, Cade was reeling. Jaxon scanned the battleground. Keeping my defences up, I followed his gaze.

Terebell executed a graceful spin and beheaded one of the Sargas loyalists, spraying ectoplasm. Considering the Ranthen were outnumbered, they were holding their own, all of them consummate fighters. More Buzzers were spidering in. A rumble filled the arena, and part of the Colosseum crumbled, causing an avalanche of stone. The rubble crashed and rolled down the stands and across the floor, scattering a few Buzzers, forcing the Rephs to divide to avoid it. Gomeisa raised a hand, and more came.

His gift was one of the most powerful I had encountered. At any moment, he could kill us all.

I could have sworn he heard the thought. His eyes flashed, and Nick was yanked off the ground.

In unison, Jaxon and I grabbed him. My mind went blank with fear as Nick fought the invisible force. With gritted teeth, Jaxon sent all of his poltergeists towards Gomeisa, breaking his grip. We collapsed to the ground, Nick pale in the face. His skin was icy, his lips dark.

That was the second time he had been singled out. The Sargas knew exactly who he was, and what he meant to me. I took off the pendant and fastened it around his neck, ignoring his weak protest.