Page 19 of Wild Reverence

XII

Dreams in the Wasteland

MATILDA

I ran over the parched hills, retracing the path Xan and I had taken to the gate.

That sharp-edged name still echoed through me.

Warin of Skyward .

I shivered, a conflicting medley of hot and cold pulsing down my bones. I had stood alone on a step with him. He had almost touched my cheek with his murderous, conniving hand.

What is your name?

I was relieved that I had kept it from him.

My trail of coins still glimmered upon the ground, marking my path home. I picked them up, breathless, and let them clink into my pocket. I was nearing the door at the ruined fortress, ready to shake the pink dust of this place from my feet, when something caught the corner of my eye.

An archway made of obsidian sprouted from the ground. And within the frame of midnight stone was another scene entirely.

Another gateway to a dream. One that I had been hoping to find.

I drew closer to it, the vision rippling like water, but when it came back into relief, I was shocked to see a rain-drenched cliff, and a boy clinging to the side. This was a nightmare of Vincent’s.

I did not hesitate, not even for a moment.

I stepped through the dark gate.