Page 21

Dove

The smoke permeated through every crack of the door, but fear paralyzed me. Was the archdemon still outside? Fire didn’t burn demons, even the fire that wasn’t their own natural brand of blue hell.

I moved the white sleeve of my robe to cover my mouth, trying to filter the thick cloud of ashen fumes.

I couldn’t stay any longer or the blaze would kill me. I flung the brass door handle open and the metal seared against my fingertips. As I charged through the smoke and flame toward the door of the shrine, my feet stumbled upon something soft yet hard beneath me and I pitched forward, landing on my knees. My hands moved forward to catch me. And then the warm ooze drenched my hands.

Elder Jane’s hollow eyes gazed up at me, a puddle of blood pooling around her.

I gasped in a huff of air, my throat burning against the smoldering ashes, falling onto my butt as I scrambled backwards.

Something isn’t right.

I’d been here before, but small details stood out to me as misplaced. Her red belt was tied incorrectly, an Elder certainly knew how to tie her belt correctly. The statue of the goddess was standing upright—she hadn’t been smashed. And even more bizarre, she was smiling. The goddess never smiled. Her katana remained in the stone sheath. The floors were too gray.

What was I doing? If I stayed any longer focusing on details, I would die here.

I moved around the body with one last apologetic look at my stern yet caring Elder, charging toward the door. Thick and heavy smoke plumed out into the hallway.

I heaved in ragged desperate breaths as I scanned the area for the demons that had attacked the temple, but as the buildings crumbled all around me, I froze.

Something isn’t right.

“This isn’t real.”

My words rang out so clearly, my throat didn’t burn like the hellfire smoke I’d been breathing in. “It’s a dream.”

“Very good,”

came a voice. “You figured it out much faster this time.”

The shadowy figure emerged from the billowing smoke as if he controlled it.

“Damon,”

I whispered. What was it that Seven had said before? The thought ran away from me as I tried to catch it. What had Rhys warned me about?

“Come, my little bird, we need to get out of here.”

His hand stretched out to mine.

I hesitated, but a crack of wood rang out above me and my entire body jerked in preemptive fear. I gripped his hand and the Lord of Nightmares yanked me away just as the roof caved in, collapsing where I had stood just a second before.

What was that thought I had?

The reality pushed my thoughts away and I raced after Damon until we were safely at the edge of the temple. As the two of us watched it crumble, my stomach churned with sickness.

“That’s not Hawthorn temple,”

I said aloud, forcing myself to remember. “This is a dream.”

Damon’s cheek lifted as we slowed to a stop and I snatched my hand back from him. As soon as I did, the dream began to fade.

“Dove, wait,”

he said, reaching forward.

I stepped back, not letting him get me into his grasp. I need to fight back. I can’t let him control me. Who knows what this evil being will do to me? Rhys’ voice came back to me, ‘Because he’s our enemy, Dove. Just like the demons.’

Damon shook his head dismally. “Don’t listen to them, Dove. I’d never hurt you, my little bird. They’re keeping secrets from you. I would never keep things from you.”

He touched my shoulder as I shook my head in confusion, visuals snapping back into place. “I’m not supposed to talk to you.”

“Then let me speak,”

he said calmly.

Despite the dystopian firescape all around us, his blond hair was perfectly styled and sleek. His dark suit had not a hint of ash. My own white robes were completely covered in soot, my knees were bloodied, and Elder Jane’s blood still dripped from my hands. My instincts kept it there, keeping the white robes as pristine as possible to avoid the long task of cleaning them tomorrow.

Damon held out a handkerchief and I took it, carefully removing the sacred blood from my hands. “Then speak, Lord of Nightmares,”

I told him as I held the cloth back out to him. Why couldn’t I wake up?

He looked down at it and took it back, only for it to burn and shrivel into ashes, falling like snow to his feet. “Because there is no one there to wake you this time, my little bird. Kairos and Seven are here speaking with me right now. I thought the Archfox would be there with you, but apparently they left you all alone. An unforgivable failing.”

I gulped, ripping my body from his hold on my shoulder. “Don’t you dare fucking hurt them.”

“Your temper almost rivals Enko’s. Best keep yourself under control. The more you give in, the easier it will take hold. And you are such a sweet and innocent fox. I’d hate for you to lose that part of yourself.”

Elder Jane’s voice rang out, one of the many times I’d been scolded as a child. “Keep your head on straight, novice. You’ll find the answers come much easier if you stay calm.”

“Stop it, leave her out of this.”

“Your memories are your own. I can only manipulate what I already know. Dreams are such a distorted reality, but I refuse to alter yours. You are here because you chose to be here. Maybe next time, you’ll choose a different memory.”

“Next time?”

“It’s the only time I get to spend with you. It’s hardly fair. Especially now that the others have poisoned you against me. I wish it could be somewhere else, but you always choose here.”

His lips curled up in disgust as he gestured around us.

I growled, striding away from him along the grassy hill, away from the burning temple. “I don’t want to spend time with you.”

“If you knew the truth, you would. When you awake, you should come to me and learn the truth that has been kept from you. Enko is almost here.”

“What truth? Tell me now if you are so honest.”

Damon frowned, shaking his head. “I wanted to do it sooner, and in person. But if that is your desire…”

“It is.”

“We’re Fated—

The words shattered the dream, and I bolted upright in bed in a cold sweat. I didn’t want to believe him, I wanted to trust my Fated mates. But…

Somehow, I knew it was the truth. Deep down, I’d known it the whole time.