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“Those all sound like good qualities to me,” he said.

“In this world, being unguarded and trusting will get you killed,” she said firmly. “You wouldn’t last a day with an illusion.”

“Then help me,” he begged.

Aurora gave him an incredulous look. “What part of ‘they will kill you’, do you not understand? And if you die in here, there is no waking up from that.”

“All the more reason why I need your help,” he insisted. “You have made it abundantly clear that you don’t want me here, but I also will not leave until I find what I’m looking for. So, if you want to get rid of me for good, help me find the answers I need. Then, I promise, I will leave and never come back.”

Aurora gave him a skeptical look. “You promise?”

Tristan lifted a hand, his blue eyes meeting hers. “You have my word.”

Aurora considered his request. Though she wasn’t sure he was giving her much of a choice. If she didn’t help him, she was fairly certain he would try it on his own. And that was no doubt going to be a lot more dangerous. At least if she kept a close eye on him, she could awaken him before anything terribly bad happened to him.

And as an added bonus, she would acquire new planks for her bridge. She had already woken him up twice without even breaking a sweat. With Tristan, there was no darkness to fear, no creatures to slaughter, no enemies to battle. If she could keep waking him up, she could potentially complete her bridge much faster.

Then she would finally make it into the golden tower.

“Fine. I’ll help you,” she said, ignoring his wide smile. “But you have to listen to everything I say.”

He nodded. “I will. Thank you.”

“What answers are you looking for, anyway?” she asked.

“Well, you know…” Tristan trailed off, his gaze falling to the sand beneath his feet. “Answers,” he finished lamely.

Aurora narrowed her eyes at him. “You have no idea what you’re looking for, do you?”

“No, but trust me, I’ll know when I find it,” he said, his confidence unwavering. “So… how do we create this illusion?”

“Normally, you could will it to appear with your mind. But…” She studied him briefly. “It might be different with you.”

He straightened his posture, seeming unsure of whether or not he should be offended. “Why would it be different with me?” he asked.

“Because you’redifferent,” she said, motioning around them once more. “Your mind isn’t dark. What you see here… this isn’t just a memory. This is a reflection of who you are at your core.”

Tristan snorted. “I guarantee you, I am not this sunny and chipper.”

“Maybe not. But you are hopeful. And where there’s hope, there’s light.” And Aurora didn’t need to look at the beach to know that. His soft blue eyes gave it away.

When several heartbeats passed, Aurora realized they had just been holding each other’s gaze. She quickly cleared her throat and looked around the beach again.

“Whatever the case, staying here won’t work,” she said. “You already attached this location to a memory, so detaching from that will be harder if you’re not used to shifting your thoughts.”

“Where else can we go?” he asked.

“If you’re looking for advice from your father, then the best place to start would be somewhere he has spent most of his time,” she explained. “Preferably a place he was most vulnerable. Sometimes, the location itself could contain a well of information.”

Tristan’s eyes darted toward the end of the beach, beyond where his father was walking. His gaze landed on a majestic castle looming at the top of a hill, overlooking the ocean.

“Will that work?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Aurora blinked several times. “Uh, yeah…” She figured it was high enough for her to jolt him awake by shoving him off a ledge. “But why would your father be in a castle?” she asked.

Tristan turned his head with a shy smile. “That’s where he worked.”

It took Aurora a few heartbeats to realize Tristan had already started walking, and she trailed after him.