Page 29 of Stolen

Midian smiled, and his voice shifted to Laurent’s. “She would have loved Valen. And Valen would have adored her.” He tilted his head. “Should we introduce them?”

“Don’t,” Varick said hoarsely. “D-Do anything you want to me, but not her. Please. Gods, please, not her.”

“Oh, your gods aren’t here,” Midian said. “They’ve abandoned you.”

Something touched my shoulder, and I screamed and whirled around. My forehead bumped something hard, and I stumbled back. And looked up…and up. An enormous vampire in full armor stood before me, his golden eyes gleaming in a handsome, cruel face. The night-blooming rose of Nor Doru covered his breastplate, and a crimson cloak streamed from his shoulders.

Varick shouted behind me. “It’s not real, Given! Look at something else!”

The vampire’s hand shot out and wrapped around my throat. He bent his head low, giving me an eyeful of bright eyes and bloodstained fangs. “Do I look real to you, little doll?”

I couldn’t breathe. I clawed at his hand, but it was like scratching at a rock. I gagged, tears running down my face as black leaked into my vision.

“Please!” Varick cried. “I’ll stop! I won’t fight you anymore. You can take whatever you want, just leave her alone.”

My tears flowed faster. Hearing him so broken and helpless was gutting me. It didn’t matter that the vampire in front of me wasn’t really Valen of Lar Keiren. I couldn’t make myself see anyone else. And I couldn’t get to Varick. But I wanted to. Desperation clawed at me, leaving bloody furrows across my heart. If I could get Varick away—just for a moment—the two of us could talk. I had things to tell him, like how I’d seen Laurent and how Laurent was clearly suffering in Varick’s absence. And I wanted to tell him we were getting out of here because I refused to let us die.

Because we wouldn’t. Igrith had seen me emerge from the Thicket. She hadn’t seen Varick, but it didn’t matter because I was taking him with me. Midian had no power over our future. I was getting Varick out.

Valen squeezed my throat.

Now.

I blinked, and Varick and I stood in the middle of a clearing surrounded by tall grasses.

Chapter Ten

VARICK

At first, Given and I just stared at each other.

Then she let out a wild cry and rushed to me, her skirts flying. I caught her and buried my face in her hair, inhaling dust and the scent of cloves that always clung to her.

“Are we safe?” she croaked.

I squeezed my eyes shut and wished I could lie. I would have given just about anything to tell her what she wanted to hear. “We can’t stay.”

She pulled back, her face streaked with dust and tears. “Why? You said this place is my creation. I used to think it was a dream, but you spoke to me here. It’s the whole reason I came to Eldenvalla.”

“I know.” I gripped her shoulders. “You brave little fool. I told you there was no hope for me. Why couldn’t you just listen?”

“Because I’m not letting you die.”

My chest tightened. I had about a hundred things I wanted to ask her, everything from how she got through the Thicket to what, if anything, Midian had forced her to see. But there was no telling how long this interlude would last, so I shoved my curiosity aside.

“Listen to me,” I said. “This is no dream. It’s the Middling. As far as I know, every farseer can reach this place. You can manipulate it to look as you wish. It was the same with my father, although his didn’t look like this.”

She glanced at a white blossom that drifted past us. “What is it, exactly? Are we…here? Physically?”

“Our bodies are in the Great Hall. Farseers are rare, so my knowledge is shaky. From what I’ve read, this is an in-between plane only those with the gift can access. Although, you can bring others here if you wish.” Normally, I would have stopped there, before old memories could surface. But this time, I let them come. “When my father wanted to punish me without a lot of noise, he pulled me into his Middling.”

Her face fell. “Oh, Varick.”

“We can’t linger here. It’s as I told you before, if we stay outside our bodies for too long we’ll die. We have to go back, and when we do, Midian will probably force me to see a lot of things I don’t want to see. I need you to look away and stay quiet, do you understand? No matter what I say or do, I need you to ignore it, sweetheart. For your own good. And mine. All right?”

“All right,” she whispered.

I took a deep breath. “Midian might try to show you things, too. That’s his power. He reads minds and he creates illusions. It’s the only real power demons have.”

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