Page 24 of To Sway a Prince (Tempting Thieves)

24

THE NIGHTMARE

T his was the nightmare. A nightmare that would never end. The threads vanished from around me. I lay on coarse dark stone in a great open space that was dark as a tomb.

Already the cold gnawed at my fingers and toes. Sound did not travel. Even my own breaths were so faint. As I sat up, the rocks beneath me scratched and itched my flesh.

If this was the liminal space spoken of before, then where were the other spirits? Shouldn't there be hundreds? Thousands?

Or…this was part of what made it such a horror. To be trapped not only in darkness, cold, and discomfort but alone. Completely and utterly alone.

On unsteady feet, I pushed myself up. It was so dark I could scarcely see my own hand in front of my face. As my eyes adjusted, I realized though there was simply nothing to see.

My chest tightened. This was it. I was trapped here. My magic was drained. Pulseporting wouldn't work. That part of myself felt as if it was dead. Ramiel had sworn he would not let me remain trapped. But did he even know where I was? Liminal space was massive. This curse had been connected to the Chasm, but did that really make a difference?

I pressed my hand to the pendant. "Ramiel?" I called out.

The darkness devoured my voice. It didn't even echo. There wasn't even a scent to guide me. No smell of stone or water. Not even the smell of me.

My fingers trembled. "Ramiel."

I moved farther away, wandering aimlessly. My shoulder stopped aching, though I massaged the scar tissue through my sleeve.

There was nothing in this place. Just darkness and rocks. Each time I moved to my right though, my shoulder started to ache.

Time no longer had meaning. I sobbed in a way I hadn't for years. "Please, Creator of All," I prayed. "Please don't let me stay here." I cried out, but my tears were cold, barely streaking down my cheeks. And the sucking ache within my chest could not be avoided.

From the first time I heard of the curse, this was the place I feared. The endless night and waking sleep, locked in a place of cold and dark. If what I'd heard was true, I would not starve to death here. Nor would I die for lack of water. I'd simply…exist.

Nothing but darkness, cold, and coarse stone.

I was going to go insane in here.

How long had it been already?

I tried counting each step but stopped after one thousand seventy-nine. There was something even more unnerving about realizing how little was changing. Was I even moving?

The only thing that changed was if I moved to the right, my shoulder hurt, the scar aching deep.

Why?

What was different in that direction?

I rubbed my shoulder again and then took three steps to the right. The pain in my shoulder worsened, radiating down my arm and across my chest. I tugged my sleeve down, then gasped. The scar was peeling away. Freshly healed skin met my gaze, the crimson mate bond struggling to form, the soft pink glow signaling that it was still healing. It was…it was still trying to complete the full mate bond with Ramiel.

Was this because of the runes Ramiel had placed against me or the mate bond or both? The burns had almost vanished, bits of the scar falling away. Something shone underneath, blindingly bright in the darkness. A golden red light—the mate mark. The mark I'd scourged was still returning, the mate bond still forming.

My magic had been drained by the omenfang and the fight. But the runes, binding spell, and mate mark were present. When I pressed my fingertips against them, the pain worsened. But in a different way. It was...were the bonds and the runes still trying to take hold?

I focused more, willing them to grow stronger. Come on. Would it make a difference? Who knew?

My energy sputtered, the magic resisting this place and refusing to regenerate like it usually did. Only a trickle flowed from my fingertips. I traced over the mark and then runes, pausing at the binding spell. What had Ramiel been binding to me? It obviously did not feel the same as the first one he put on me. It made me smile now, a bittersweetness passing through me.

I hadn't been able to find the weakness in the binding spell with Zephyrus. Binding spells made from love did not have weaknesses. That was a fact of rune fae magic. A law of sorts. A gift from the Creator. Did that in turn mean that it would more swiftly take hold?

My fingers drifted then to the pendant once more. I imagined my words traveling through the pendant to him. "Ramiel?"

A large shape loomed ahead, somehow darker than the shadows. Was that—was that the leviathan?

The darkness shifted. A low, haunting sound vibrated through the void. Something like whale song. I froze, my skin prickling.

I stepped toward him, that eerie melody lulling me closer. Another step. Dull pain spread through my shoulder beneath the scars, making me wince.

The leviathan gave another low call and continued to swim, not getting closer or farther away. The hum of his voice filled my ears.

The mate bond pulsed stronger, hurting more.

I hesitated. Was this a warning or sign? I didn't know. What choice did I have in this void? Stay still and surrender to eternity?

"Knots take me," I muttered, pushing forward.

Each step intensified the discomfort and pain. My shoulder burned like molten metal. Still, I followed the leviathan's path.

The creature doubled back, swimming in long, sweeping arcs. It never approached me directly, instead tracing what seemed like an invisible boundary. Back and forth, back and forth, but never toward me.

Soon it seemed as if I was directly in front of it. I reached out, my fingers encountering resistance where nothing should be. A barrier. Invisible but solid as stone and slightly damp.

"I'm just outside the Chasm," I whispered, my voice swallowed by the emptiness.

The leviathan paused. He knew I was here.

Was that a good thing?

Well…worst that could happen is he ate me. That'd be a swift end rather than being trapped in this place until the end of time.

I pressed my palm flat against the barrier, channeling what little magic I could muster. Golden light spread from my fingertips. The barrier—it was like what formed the surface of the Chasm except thicker and sturdier. "Can you hear me?"

The leviathan's song changed, shifting to a lower pitch. He began swimming deliberately to the left, his movements slow but purposeful. Slow enough that I could follow.

I followed along the barrier, matching his pace. "Are you the same one from before?" Were there others like him down here?

His song continued, low, then high, rumbling, then keening. It was almost soothing.

I winced as the mate bond pulsed again. "Healing hurts sometimes. I don't know that mine is going to do me any good down here. Are you—are you feeling better?"

The song continued. It remained the same, unaffected by my statements though he slowed his pace. Down here, he seemed to be at least sixty feet in length. Lightning arced from his jaws occasionally, lighting up the space and revealing there was truly nothing but rocks around me.

"Will you stay close? Ramiel said you're something of a guardian in this space." I hugged myself as we continued. The ache in my shoulder intensified. "I know you can't help me. You may not even understand what I'm saying. If I can't figure out a way out of here, you'll see me go insane." My shoulders dropped. "The only thing that comforts me is knowing if I hadn't done this, then Ramiel would be here. And I wouldn't know the first thing about saving him."

The leviathan continued. And I followed, speaking of nothing and everything. It unnerved me to hear how small my voice was in this place. And the leviathan's presence made me feel more aware of my isolation.

"Zephyrus, no. Don't go into the Chasm. Stay back!" Ramiel's voice was distant within my mind as if on the other side of a field.

I clasped the necklace close. "Ramiel?!"

"We'll get her back. Zephyrus, stop. Zephyrus, calm. Calm!"

I closed my eyes, focusing intently on the remnants of his voice. "Stay back, Zephyrus," I whispered, even though I knew he couldn't hear me. "Don't die because of me." I could practically hear his roars of rage and sorrow, and they gutted me. But when I really listened, I knew that was simply my imagination now.

The leviathan hummed again. He moved up and down slowly on the other side of the barrier as if searching for something. Vaguely I heard the faint squelching of pressure. Was it weaker here? Maybe I could summon my last remnants of magic and—he drove his blunt snout into the barrier.

Sharp pain pierced my shoulder, and light flashed before my eyes. Then it vanished.

My energy faded, and I dropped to my knees.

The leviathan's hum wove around me. He drove his head into the barrier again.

The leviathan's song grew distant. My eyelids grew heavy. I—I couldn't stay awake. I couldn't stand.

Before I could even register fear, I drifted into a dream. The familiar balcony materialized—the same one from my last dream with Ramiel. Stars glittered overhead like scattered diamonds against black velvet.

Ramiel stood at the railing, silver hair catching moonlight. He turned, his face lighting up as he spread his arms.

I rushed forward, collapsing against his chest, clutching his shirt. My fingers dug into the fabric as I buried my face against his chest.

"I'm afraid," I whispered, voice breaking. "I don't know how to get back."

His arms tightened around me. One hand cradled my head, fingers threading through my hair. The other pressed firmly against the small of my back, anchoring me to him.

"It's all right," he murmured against my temple. "Please don't give up. I'm coming for you."

"I'm tired, Ramiel. And I hurt so much." My voice cracked. "This place is draining everything. I know you're not here. You couldn't hear me before. This isn't any different."

He pulled back just enough to look into my eyes. "Trust me, Astraia. Just a little longer. You gave me back my life. I will give you back yours."

"Don't give me false hope," I whispered. A dream had never hurt this much, but how desperately I wanted all this to be true. False hope that would be so easy to take into myself.

Something cracked, a loud ricocheting sound like a cliff collapsing. The balcony shuddered beneath us. Cracks spiderwebbed across the stone. My stomach lurched.

No. No!

I tried to grab onto him, but my fingers passed through his surcoat and chest. I was fading. Fading and falling!

His arm snared around me, his other hand seizing me by the shoulder.

"Ahhh!" Pain shot through my shoulder, white-hot and vicious, twisting and curling. It was as if my arm was being wrenched from its socket and the joint burned from within.

"Hold fast, Astraia. Just trust me!" He yanked me forward. The darkness vanished.

We stood in the Covenant Chamber. Glass jars of gemstone sand hummed in harmonious chorus, casting prismatic light across the walls. Beautiful. Peaceful. Sacred.

Relief swept over me. The dream had changed. "Rami—" I doubled over, clutching my shoulder. Each breath came in ragged gasps.

He steadied me, his hand against my shoulder. "Trust me, Astraia," he said. "It will be all right. Breathe. And focus on me. Focus on our bond. Have we come this far only to lose one another now? Focus on me, nat. Just on me."

"It hurts so much," I said, my voice thick. "And I'm still so cold. That's all that's left, isn't it? Memories and cold and aching and pain and darkness."

"No." A muscle in his jaw jumped. He pulled me tight against him and pressed my ear to his chest. His heartbeat thumped steady and strong against my ear. The humming of the sand jars grew louder, resonating with something I could not place. "Focus on me, Astraia. Just focus on me."

Oh! Warmth radiated from his body, chasing away the bone-deep cold of the void. For the first time since entering this terrible place, I could smell him faintly—frosted silver and cedar, crisp and earthy. A hint of smoke and leather too. I inhaled deeply, letting his scent fill my lungs.

"Good." He held me closer. I curled in tighter, my hands fisting in his tunic, desperate for touch and heat. His fingers carded my hair. "Good. Focus on me, Astraia. Focus hard. You aren't alone."

"Ramiel—" I gasped again. That searing pain cut into my shoulder once more. Screaming, I buried my face in his chest again. My fingers tingled. My toes burned too. Heat crept through my limbs. The aching intensified. My body trembled.

The pain twisted deeper, shredding through me like a thousand white-hot needles. I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think.

"I can't—" My legs buckled.

Ramiel held me up, his grip fierce. "You can. You will. I know you can do this."

I shook my head, tears streaming. "It's too much."

"Look at me." His voice cut through the agony. His eyes locked with mine, fierce and determined. "I love you, Astraia. I loved you from the moment I knew you were real."

The pain crescendoed. I screamed, clinging to him.

"Feel me. Use all of your senses," he said, his voice rumbling in my ear. "Smell the air. Hear my voice. This is not an ordinary dream, and you know that. You're coming back to me now, Astraia. You're coming home."

Suddenly—scents flooded back. The gemstone sand jars' earthy bite. The sharp tang of magic. Ramiel's cedar and frosted silver, warm cashmere and burning wood.

Sounds sharpened. The vibrating hum. My ragged breathing. Ramiel's steady heartbeat. The smooth silk of his shirt beneath my fingertips. Cool air and—my own tears, hot and wet, streaming down my cheeks.

"That's it," he whispered. "Come back to me."

"How—?"

"Trust me," he said. "Everything will be all right. I promise you."

The pain surged again. I cried out.

"Hold on," he urged. "Just a moment longer."

His hand cupped my face. His thumb brushed away my tears.

"I love you," he said again. "I will always find you."

Then his lips pressed against mine.

Light exploded behind my eyelids—blinding, golden, warm. The mate bond flared strong, bright and undeniable, burning and aching.

The world tilted.

Then stillness.