Page 25

DOMINIC

D arkness pressed in like wet velvet, thick and suffocating. The air smelled like overripe fruit and crushed nightshade, and every breath burned. Dominic wasn’t sure how long he’d been drifting but the longer he stayed, the more it felt like drowning in slow motion.

He wasn’t alone. Not entirely.

Whispers skittered through the dream-realm like dry leaves across stone, voices he couldn’t place but felt down to his marrow. His lion prowled inside him, pacing, snarling, every inch of the beast coiled in furious restraint.

He should be dead. That much was clear. But he wasn’t. Not yet.

The fae binding held him like chains of silk and steel—no visible ropes or cells, just pressure. Pressure in his bones, on his thoughts, around his will. Every time he tried to move, the world folded back on itself, warped by Thaloryn’s cruel magic.

And still… Dominic fought. Because in the haze of it all, he saw her .

Lillith.

Not the real one—at least, he didn’t think so. This vision of her stood across a field of black glass and stars, barefoot and trembling, her eyes rimmed red with tears. She didn’t speak. The hurt on her face said it all.

He reached for her, and the world yawned wider, swallowing her whole.

His lion roared. The magic cracked.

Dominic dropped to his knees, panting, sweat— or was it dreamblood? —dripping down his spine. The glamour shimmered at the edges now, pulsing, faltering.

He shoved upward, fists clenched, forcing his limbs to obey. “Let me out,” he growled into the void.

The air shifted. The dream darkened. And Thaloryn appeared.

He stepped from the shadows like mist condensing into something hateful, silver hair falling around his shoulders, pale eyes like shattered ice. Beautiful in that eerie, hollow way fae often were. Beautiful and terrible.

“You’re louder than I expected,” the prince drawled, voice laced with a mockery of amusement.

Dominic bared his teeth. “Guess I’m not dying as quietly as you hoped.”

“Oh, Dominic,” Thaloryn sighed, circling him like a predator. “You weren’t supposed to last this long. The curse was designed to unravel you. Her. Both of you. Slowly. Beautifully. Painfully.”

Dominic flexed his hands. The air around him cracked again—just faint, like the echo of thunder far off.

Thaloryn noticed. His smile thinned.

“You ruined it,” the prince said, sharper now. “You weren’t meant to grow closer. You weren’t meant to thrive . You were supposed to burn each other out. And yet…”

Dominic straightened to his full height, despite the tremble in his legs. “We took down your beast.”

“And saved your little town,” Thaloryn hissed. “For now anyway. So quaint. So… pathetic.”

“You’re scared,” Dominic said suddenly. “That’s what this is.”

Thaloryn stilled.

“You broke the bond because you couldn’t control it. Couldn’t use it. And now you’re trying to control me instead.”

“Control?” The prince’s laugh was hollow. “No, Dominic. I’m going to unmake you.” He waved a hand. The sky tore open.

Images flooded the dream. Lillith, crumpling in Pines and Needles , screaming his name. Lillith in the Whispering Woods, eyes wild with grief. Lillith raising old magic, light splitting the earth beneath her feet.

Dominic staggered.

Pain lanced through him—not from Thaloryn’s magic, but from the severed bond. From the ache that lived where she used to be. Every beat of his heart now echoed with absence . Every breath a reminder that he couldn’t feel her anymore.

“She should’ve been mine,” Thaloryn said, voice low and dangerous. “She was mine, once. In blood. In magic. In promise.”

“You don’t own her,” Dominic snarled. “You never did.”

“I will.”

Dominic’s lion surged, golden fire spiraling through the cracks in the dream-world. Thaloryn flinched but didn’t retreat.

“I’ll make her forget you,” the prince vowed. “I’ll twist her memories, bend her will, erase that tether until she begs to kneel.”

“You try,” Dominic growled, “and I will tear through every plane of existence to end you.”

Thaloryn’s face darkened. “You’re strong,” he admitted. “Annoyingly so. But strength won’t save you here.”

The glamour wrapped tighter.

Chains of frost and illusion spiraled up Dominic’s arms, rooting him in place again. He fought but the magic was built on his weakness, his fear, his love.

“You’ll stay here,” Thaloryn whispered, stepping in close. “Trapped in dreams. Watching her fall.Until I decide it’s time for you to see the truth that your dreams have become real.”

Dominic's vision blurred. Not from pain. From rage. And still, deep in his chest, his lion paced because if love was what got him cursed, then love was going to break him out .