Page 147 of A Cursed Son

He raises his hand, showing his pinkie. “This? For her? That’s not even a question. I wouldn’t think twice.”

I feel my heart beating faster.

She turns to me. “Would you?—”

“Cut a finger for him? If I was sure it helped, of course. If it was an arm or something, I’d try to see if there was any other way.”

She laughs. “This wasn’t my question. I wanted to know if you’d be happy if the dreams stopped.”

“How can I know?”

Her stare cuts right through me. “Let me see if I get this straight. Both of you would go to great lengths for each other, and yet you want your connection broken. Is that so?”

“I just want the unwanted dreams to stop,” he says. “That’s all. And if you know if there’s any malicious intent or mind magic behind them, it would be helpful to let us know.”

“Your mind magic helps you connect to each other, prince.” Funny that she calls him both king and prince. “Other than that, all that you’re seeing are your combined desires. There’s no malice, no magic, nobody trying to manipulate anyone.”

I exhale and sit up straight as I realize he came here to learn whether this was part of some plan. At least he got his answer.

The woman now turns to me. “Are the dreams unwanted?”

“I’ve said it before; they’re awkward.”

“Awkward is not the same as unwanted. Don’t you know how the dreams came to be?”

For a second, I’m back at the tower, lighting a candle, asking the Almighty Mother to connect me to my kindred soul. I asked for this connection. I wanted it. But not like this, when we’re one way when sleeping and another way awake, when I have to feel ashamed of my own dreams, when he can peer into my desires. My desires.

“No answer?” The woman smiles.

Marlak stands partly in front of me. “You’re embarrassing my wife, and I’ll ask you to stop.”

“Your wife.” The Nameless laughs. “The one you’d definitely never have dreams about. The one you don’t think about day and night.”

“What if I do?” His tone is flippant, but I notice he’s shaking. “It doesn’t mean I want her to share my dreams.”

“Don’t you want her to share your bed?”

“What if I do?” he asks.

“Then invite her like a grown man.”

He clenches his fists. “It doesn’t mean she needs to have unwanted dreams.”

The woman shrugs. “Well, then you never had a problem to begin with. None of the dreams are unwanted, none of the visions are unwanted. Like it or not, you both created them. Perhaps you were not aware of what you did, but you did it. Now deal with it.”

“So that’s your answer,” Marlak says.

“The truth can be uncomfortable sometimes.” She stares at me. “And awkward, quite frequently. There’s no reason to evade it. But the truth will help you.” She turns to him. “Sometimes only darkness reveals light. Don’t lose hope. There’s protection for you. I’ll go now.” She turns to me. “Trust your power.”

With that, she disappears. Only then the forest comes alive with sounds of birds and leaves in the wind.

Marlak turns to me. “She’s been more helpful before.”

I’m glad for the opportunity not to discuss what the woman just said. “When did you come? Was it the Nymphs who told you about her?”

He nods. “Yes, it was them. But I can’t tell you what she helped me with.”

“Part of your big secrets.”