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D estiny wrapped her arms tighter around her midsection as she wandered through the relentless dark, shivering as much from fear as from the cold.

The dreams were changing, their pattern completely altered from anything she’d experienced before, and that deviation terrified her. Was there a reason the visions had changed so drastically? The only thing worse than knowing what she faced in the future was dealing with this uncertainty.

Was that how it felt for everyone? Everyone not Faerie, that is.

She paused, trying to gain her bearings as she peered into the inky blackness.

Here in this sleep-world, she’d always known, hadn’t she? Known the Fae existed. Even if she’d denied it in her waking world.

Denied it before tonight, that is. But tonight the truth had smacked her upside the head, as her mother used to say, and she had no choice but to pay attention.

“I’m sorry, Mama,” she whispered into the dark, regret piercing through her heart. Regret and guilt. If only her mother were still alive to hear her say those words.

A spark of silver shot past, leaving a ragged streak of phosphorescent light in its wake.

“That which is her essence hears.”

Her father’s voice?

“Where are you?” Destiny turned in a circle, but found nothing in the empty black around her. “I need to see you!” she wailed.

“No, what you need to see is this.”

She stumbled forward as if someone had shoved her, straight through the jagged glowing rip and into a dimly lit room.

Destiny threw out her arms to catch her balance and waited for her eyes to adjust. When they did, she almost wished they hadn’t.

In the corner of the room, next to a small bed, a young woman huddled on the floor, her features masked by the wild, unkempt mop of long blond hair covering her face.

One hand was bound to a bedpost by a long, thin strap, the other was clasped to her heart as she wept, her shoulders shaking with the silent sobs.

The air left Destiny’s lungs in a rush, her stomach knotting. She had no need to see the young woman’s face. She knew the eyes that would stare up at her would be a deep, dark brown, like fine, rich chocolate. The nose would turn up and the lips would be pink, like little rosebuds. All set in the fine, porcelain frame of a heart-shaped face.

The face of her sister.

“Leah,” she whispered, starting forward to comfort the young woman she had practically raised by herself.

Her progress was halted almost before it began, as if a transparent sheet of glass had been lowered between her and her sister.

“Leah!” she screamed, again and again as she beat her fists against the invisible barrier.

All to no avail. Her sister didn’t hear.

“She inhabits the waking world as your own body does. Only your mind travels here, Desi.”

“Daddy?” Destiny’s voice broke as she uttered the name she hadn’t used for so many years. She sank to the ground, her forehead against the barrier. “Why won’t you help us?”

Wasn’t it bad enough he’d left her to deal with everything on her own in the real world? Why wouldn’t he help her now? She was so tired of fighting this battle all alone.

“I’m not strong enough to do this,” she whispered. “I can’t save her on my own.”

“Destiny!” Her father’s voice roared around her ears. “Remember your mother’s teachings and mind your words. Words have power. What comes out of your mouth can harm as well as help.”

Shaking, she rose to her knees, straining to search the darkness behind her for any clue as to the location of the voice. Was it only coincidence that she’d spoken those very words to Jesse tonight at dinner?

“Look to the vision, Daughter. A circle within a circle. Travel the line with the man who wears the mark. I can say no more.”

She turned her head in time to see her sister’s arm lower and her fingers open, freeing the object she’d clasped to her heart.

Their mother’s necklace.

The necklace Destiny had so carefully wrapped up in a tissue after it had broken just days ago. The necklace she had carried in the bottom of her purse.

At the center of Leah’s palm, light glinted off the shiny surface of the hematite stone bearing the odd marking of a striped snake with a line slashed through it.

The same symbol she’d seen earlier tonight in Jesse’s tattoo.

There was no gathering of light to warn her this time, only the blinding bright radiance surrounding her as she felt her being, her essence, tossed through the time flow.

Destiny opened her eyes to a cold, inky darkness, at first unable to determine which world she inhabited. Her heart pounded and her breath came in short puffs of air as an overwhelming fear surrounded her, paralyzing her.

A fear for her sister.

A fear for herself.

Her arms and legs ached from being drawn into a tight, little ball, shivering. She wanted to search for some way to warm herself, but the thought of moving from that exact spot terrified her.

Anything could be out there in the night. Waiting.

As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she forced herself to sit up in bed and she recognized the room around her. Her covers lay on the floor, where she’d apparently kicked them as she’d dreamed. Cold air pumped out of a vent in the wall next to her and the huge T-shirt she wore provided no warmth at all.

T-shirt?

This must be the real world, but she certainly didn’t remember having a shirt like this in her new things. She buried her nose in the fabric and the scent that lingered in the fibers of the soft cotton washed over her, bringing with it a promise of safety. There was only one place the shirt could have come from.

Jesse.

The realization brought with it an instant need for the man himself. A need so strong, it pushed her to crawl from the middle of the bed and place first one foot on the floor and then the other. One tentative step after another until she reached the door of the bedroom.

The security and safety Jesse represented outweighed the fear that threatened to consume her.

Out into the hallway she moved, stopping every few steps to listen for any noise, any clue that whatever it was that caused her terror might be lurking close by.

Nearing the stairs, she saw Jesse’s door, open, just as he’d promised. He had, in fact, done everything he’d said he would, not just asking for her trust, but actually working to earn it, as if he really cared what she thought of him.

She realized with a start that he’d never even mentioned money, or how much all this was going to cost her. Instead he had, from the first moment they’d met, acted as if he was her personal protector.

That, of course, was ridiculous. His employer would, without a doubt, charge her a huge sum of money. But if they found Leah and brought her home safely, the cost was irrelevant.

Not that she could pay any amount right now. She’d spent every cent she had looking for her sister. Still, whatever the cost, it didn’t matter. She’d gladly make payments on the debt for the rest of her life.

She’d reached his door, her feet drawing to a halt at the threshold. Indecision gnawed its way through her mind. She was torn between wanting to go to him and feeling that it was inappropriate for her cross the invisible line separating her from his bedroom.

The need to touch him, to lose herself in the sense of safety she felt in his presence, was strong, but once she crossed over into that room, she was admitting to herself that she needed him. Trusted him.

And that admission terrified her almost as much as the unknown fear hovering over her. It meant that she was once again opening herself up to the pain that would come if another person she cared for deserted her.

She waivered, not sure she was strong enough to go through that again, but not sure she was brave enough to go back to her own room, either.

A rustle of bedcovers was followed by his voice. “Des? Are you okay?”

He’d taken to calling her “Des,” and somehow that small, almost intimate gesture touched her heart.

“Yes,” she lied in a shaking voice, but then thought better of it. “No.” She wasn’t okay. Not standing here in his doorway. Alone. Afraid.

“Come here.”

She knew he was holding out his arms to her. Even though she couldn’t quite make out his figure in the murky room, she knew it as surely as she knew she would go to him.

Heading in the direction of his voice, she reached his bed and found him standing there, his arms open, just as she’d known they would be.

He pulled her in, holding her close as he stroked her hair. “What’s wrong?”

How was she supposed to tell him she was afraid of everything? Afraid of what was happening to her sister, afraid of that horrible Dermond Tyren coming after her again, afraid of dealing with all of it on her own. How could she tell him that right here with him was the only place she felt safe, but feeling that dependent on him frightened her as much as anything else. How stupid and pathetic would that make her sound?

Instead of answering, she shook her head, burrowing deeper into his embrace.

“I know you’re worrying about tomorrow. Try not to. We’re going to get your sister. I promise. Right now what you need is to get some rest.” His words encouraged her to leave, but he made no move to loosen his hold.

And she didn’t want him to.

Biting back her pride, she made her decision. “Please don’t make me go away.”

“I won’t.” He rubbed a hand up and down her back. “Strange house get to you?”

“Strange dreams is more like it. And your house is freezing.” Change the subject. The last thing she wanted was to relive the horror of the nightmare she’d just had.

The dream was so different from her normal visions, even though her father’s voice had been there. Perhaps it really had been no more than a nightmare.

And yet, it was so real. So vivid.

“You are chilled. Sorry. I didn’t think to turn down the AC before I went to bed. I’m a hot guy, you know?”

Oh yeah, she knew. She also knew that if she could see him right now, he’d be wearing that lopsided grin. The one that made her want to rip off his clothes.

Not that he had all that many on right now anyway. Boxers, maybe? Certainly no shirt. And the legs touching hers were bare, too. Bare and strong and muscled and…

Think of something else!

“Why’s it so dark in here?”

“Blackout curtains. I travel a lot and my schedule gets messed up sometimes. It’s easier to get myself back in sync without daylight coming in.”

For his work. He travels for his work. Work like me.

“Want me to go turn the temp up?”

“No.” That would mean he’d walk away, leaving her here all alone.

“Then what do you want, Des?”

“Hold me.” Just to be wrapped in his arms. Just to feel safe. Real or not.” He pushed her toward the high bed. “Crawl in.”

Sleep in his bed? With him? “I… I don’t know.”

“You want the cuddle thing. We’ll stick to the cuddle thing. But I’m not standing here all night. Now move it.”

Another little nudge and she was climbing up, sitting, suddenly feeling the lines she’d worried about crossing were long passed.

He scooted in beside her, pulling her down next to him, snuggling her back into the curve of his body, his chin resting on the top of her head. “Don’t worry. I’ll be on my best behavior. Scout’s honor. I’ll keep my hands to myself.” He chuckled as he tightened his hold on her. “Well, metaphorically speaking. Now, try to get some sleep.”

She believed him. The problem was, at this point, with the warmth of his body surrounding her, she was much more concerned about being able to keep her hands to her self.