Page 53 of The Nightmare Bride

B y the time I hurtled into the drive, my lungs had caught fire. Sweat soaked my dress.

I stumbled to a stop. The swamp beckoned, but I couldn’t just dive in unprepared. Judging by the clouds scudding across the sky, a nightmare was brewing, and I’d need some way to secure myself.

My thoughts spun. I could take the shackles from my armoire, anchor myself to a tree if need be. Because I wouldn’t make the same mistake the Lady Marche had.

I would not die before reaching Zephyrine and offering up my life for Amryssa’s.

I sprang into motion, tearing open the manor’s doors and racing up the grand staircase. Candlelight shimmered in the hallways, but I encountered no one.

I burst into my room. The doorknob cracked against the wall, but I didn’t spare it a glance. I vaulted toward my armoire, yanking open the bottom drawer, flinging aside scraps of silk in search of my chains.

Behind me, fabric rustled. “Lioness.”

My heart went splat, as if an invisible hand had pitched it against the wall. That smoked-velvet voice. That ludicrous accent. That... What? No. My thoughts fuzzed over, my mind filling with warm white blankness.

I turned, slowly.

All the air left the room. Because there he was, sitting on my bed, as casual as anything, his copper hair falling across his forehead, his starlit eyes searching my face. A plain linen shirt clung to the strong lines of his body. He rested his elbows on his knees, his fingers interlaced.

My pulse restarted, a one-two punch against my sternum. “Kai?”

One side of his mouth slid upward. “Who else?”

“But...” Oh, goddess. Was I dreaming? I had to be. My longing had ballooned to such proportions that it had assumed a solid shape. “Are you really here?”

He glanced down at himself. “It would certainly seem that way.”

“But...what’re you doing?”

He aimed raised eyebrows at the open drawer behind me. “Trying to figure out what you’re searching for so desperately.”

A skeletal laugh rattled out of me. “You... No, I mean... What’re you doing here ? In Oceansgate? You left. To go to Fairmont. Or you were supposed to.”

His head tilted. “Is that so? Because I could’ve sworn I was supposed to be right here.”

“I...” Hot mist slicked my eyes. “But you walked out. You said you could tell when you weren’t wanted.”

“Well, I can.”

“Then why’re you here?”

He lifted a shoulder and dropped it. “Because. This was not one of those times.”

My throat worked. Emotion crashed through me, splintering me into pieces. Then I was running, hurling myself into his arms, toppling him onto the bed. A grunt flew from his mouth as his back hit the mattress.

His arms circled me, and I clung to him, his heartbeat a full-throated chorus against my ear. I raised my head, then mashed my lips against his with enough fervor to slow time.

He matched the intensity of my kiss, burying a hand in my hair. When I pulled back, he gazed up at me, wonderstruck. “I’ll admit, I was hoping for a warm welcome, but this exceeds even my expectations.”

“Seven hells, I missed you.” My words were garbled, salted with tears. “I thought I was never going to see you again.”

“Well.” He pushed a handful of hair behind my ear. “You haven’t been listening to a word I’ve said, then.”

“I can’t believe you came back.”

“I didn’t come back , lioness. I never left.”

I laughed, or sobbed, or some combination of the two, and burrowed my head against his chest again.

I allowed myself a second. A flawless, diamond moment in which nothing else existed. I didn’t care where he’d been, or who with, or about anything except that he was here , solid and reassuring and even more breathtaking than I’d remembered.

He hadn’t abandoned me. He hadn’t left . Even though I’d tried to make him.

That simple truth of that saturated me with such feeling that I came unstuck from gravity. Then reality crashed back, and I scrambled up, scrubbing at my cheeks.

“Vick has Amryssa.”

His expression didn’t change. “I know. That’s why I’m here.

I mean, I’m here for you, but also because I’ve been in the forest these past weeks, watching the liberators.

Vick has them convinced he’s going to stop the nightmares.

I’d hoped he wouldn’t go so far as to steal Amryssa, but once I realized he would, I knew you’d need help. ”

Renewed emotion surged through me. “So you came to save her?”

“Of course.” He propped himself up on his forearms. “And I wasn’t about to let you rush off into the forest and get yourself hurt. Or killed.”

I nodded, unable to speak.

“And frankly, I’m hoping there’s something in it for me.” His look grew heavy with meaning. “You know. The ring toss that finally lands around the bottle.”

Another dizzying wave of feeling crashed up from my depths. Goddess, I could hardly withstand all this intensity, but I was glad he was here. Flabbergasted, really, and so filled with gratitude that I felt like one of Olivian’s overstuffed armchairs, thread creaking along every seam.

I wouldn’t have to do this alone.

But... My throat soured. Kai had no idea what I planned to do. He hadn’t read the Lady’s letter to Amryssa, had never learned about the blood-price. He assumed I meant to get my friend back, not reach Zephyrine first and offer myself in her place.

I forced a smile. I couldn’t tell him. I also couldn’t do anything but sacrifice myself, because we had no chance of getting Amryssa back, otherwise. Maybe if we’d had time to rally Lunk and Olivian and the stewards, but considering the weather?—

A bell clanged, across the house. Then another. The sound cut through the silence.

“Well, that’s inconvenient,” Kai said. “If not entirely unexpected.”

Amryssa. Oh, goddess. I had to get to the holy tree, now , by any means necessary. End the nightmares, because she wouldn’t make it through another one on her own.

I pushed off the bed and pulled Kai to standing. “I came up here for my manacles, but maybe if I have you, I won’t need them?”

His expression tightened. “If the storm overwhelms you?—”

“Can’t you just hold me down?”

He shook his head. “Even I can’t pin a hellcat. Not for long. You’ll need something.”

“Okay.” I whirled, pawing through the drawer until I came up with my shackles. If nothing else, Ky could use them on Amryssa while I slipped away and offered my blood to Zephyrine. “Here.”

Kai took the restraints. “How long do we have?”

“Thirty minutes until Vick reaches the tree, probably. Maybe twenty-five, by now.”

“Not much time, then. Let’s go.”

I nodded and put my hand in his. We bolted from the room.

Down in the great hall, the front doors stood open.

Outside, the night hissed and heaved. Merron stood just inside, sweat-soaked and panting.

He babbled to Olivian, who looked like he wanted to murder the first person who dared to come within reach.

The seneschal’s eyes blazed at our approach. “You had one job! One fucking job .”

“I know!” I launched straight into a shout. “And I’m going to go do it, right now. I’m going to get Amryssa back. With Kai’s help.”

The seneschal’s gaze skipped past me. He was practically frothing at the mouth, fury churning off him in waves, but he wasted no time on surprise. “You two are going out into the nightmare?”

“Yes.”

He growled. “You’ll die. Which won’t help a goddess-damned thing. Amryssa will be out there trying to get to Zephyrine, and you’ll be busy tearing your own eyeballs out.”

“No.” I gestured to the manacles. “I have these. And Kai can resist the nightmares.”

Olivian’s face contorted. “That’s impossible.”

“It’s not. I’ve seen him do it. More than once.”

Olivian and Merron surveyed my husband with palpable shock. Kai only shrugged, as if to say, What? I’m exceptional .

Outside, thunder cracked over the swamp. The floor trembled, the scent of char sharpening the air. Olivian and Merron grimaced as my knees wobbled.

But Kai just stood there, looking ready for a stroll in the park. Or maybe a restorative nap.

When everything stilled, Olivian raked his gaze over my husband with renewed interest. “You intend to save her?”

“I do.”

“Then I’m coming with you.”

“No,” I cut in. “You won’t get more than a half a mile before the storm crushes you. Amryssa already lost her mother that way. She can’t lose you, too. She needs you alive.”

“I can’t do nothing .” Olivian’s shoulders strained, threatening to rupture his shirt at the seams.

“You won’t be,” Kai said smoothly. “You’ll be ensuring your survival, for the sake of your daughter. Go. Chain yourself. The moment the storm passes, come find us. We’ll have her. We’ll be waiting.”

Olivian’s mouth twisted, but Kai’s words seemed to compel him in a way mine couldn’t.

The power of bald-faced confidence, I supposed. Or maybe it was just a man thing.

“We’re wasting time,” Kai warned.

The seneschal swore. “Fine. Go get her. I’ll come the second I’m able.”

“Of course.”

Olivian found my gaze and held it. So many things simmered in his eyes—terror, fury, agonized helplessness—and I tried to communicate my intent with a look. To assure him I’d give my life for Amryssa’s. Maybe I was successful, because he gave me a bare nod.

“Please, Harlowe.” His plea was soft. Gentle, even.

“I’ll save her,” I said.

Kai made for the door. I hesitated, then bade Olivian and Merron goodbye. I tried not to make it sound like the permanent kind, even though it was.

Merron looked stricken, but I stepped into the angry night and shut the doors.

Out in the drive, clouds piled above the trees, staining the sky purple. Kai scanned the swamp. “Which way?”

I flung out a finger. “There.” In the far distance, below the storm’s epicenter, the overgrown oak swayed in the wind.

My skin tightened. I’d try my best not to fall apart out there, but I couldn’t be sure I’d succeed. “Whatever happens”—I caught at Ky’s wrist—“just...know that I love you, all right?”

He froze, his eyes wide, his nostrils flared.