Page 34 of The Nightmare Queen

Her hair, that same sea of black is no longer spread out across the mat but wound around her now, “No, no, no, no.”Tumbles from her lips.

I move over to place my hand on her shoulder. I pick up her wrist, it’s glowing the same red as mine, further confirming that another facet of this seal isn’t just binding our agreement - but bindingus.

“Eveera. Eveera. Come on.” She doesn’t budge, but her whimpers have started to turn into wails. “Wake up before you alert the whole damn outer lands.” I hiss into her ear.

Both eyes snap wide as she gasps in a mouthful of air, her hands clawing at her chest. “What the hell?” She whisper shouts. Next to her Axel groans out a barely coherent “Evie, shut up”in our direction, his hand flailing out to smack at her.

“Don’t yell at me, you were the one making all the fuss.” I snap. She shoves me away from her, sprinting off into the darkness. “Damn woman.” I grumble, darting off after her. Armond - who’s on guard - lets a slight snort out at the display.Why the fuck didn’t he wake her?The want to turn around and confront him instead of Eveera rises up in me but I tamp it down and settle for a scathing glare in his direction.

“Must you follow me?!” Her attempts to shout are dwindled by our need to be quiet.

“If you insist on stalking off into the middle of the night then yes,Your Highness, I must follow you.” My frustration matching hers.

Why does she have to be so difficult? She knows how dangerous these woods are, and yet she still is choosing to storm away.The thought sits inmy mind, the voice in my head begging to materialize. “You can’t take off out here.” I argue.

“Ha. I’m probably the only who can take off out in these woods, thank you very much.”

A sigh heaves from me as I rub the scruff on my chin. “Well last time you got bit.”

She glares, an accusatory finger poking into my chest, “because you distracted me! And look here you are, distracting me.AGAIN!Poking your nose into something that isn’t your business, AGAIN!”

“I was just trying to help.”

She leans her head back against a tree. “It was a nightmare, Rorin. I would’ve woken up eventually. You don’t need to try and help me with my dark and twisty head. Okay, princeling?” Something tugs inside me when she says my name, before she switches back to that insipid nickname. I pace back and forth in front of her.

“I’m not. I-I wasn’t.” The words stammering out of me. My body moves in front of her, caging her against the tree. “My mind…and then my wrist.” I whisper.

Her eyes go dark, “what about your mind and wrist?”

“I saw things. I saw memories. I think you pulled me into them.” My voice is barely audible. If my words weren’t, then my position was the only thing holding her in place.

“Pulled you intowhat, princeling.Words.” She asks her tone on the brink of turning violent.

“I saw you. I saw…her.”Her eyes start to bleed black at the corners as she loses the grip on her control. On instinct I grab her throat and pin her in place, the proximity putting our faces close enough that our noses brush. My lip curls into a snarl that just barely grazes her toplip. “Don’t do it, Nightmare. Don’t throw my own demons at me just because someone saw yours for once.”

Her eyes slip back into that mesmerizing gold at my words her voice cracking. “Why?”

Why indeed.With the threat of her Wield lashing out sated, I place some distance between the two of us.“Our wrists, the seal. I think it links more than just the terms of our agreement. I think it links us. You were panicking, your mind was throwing you into chaos - into danger. The sealreacted. I think it pulled me in to protect you.”

She huffs out a quiet incredulous laugh. “Protect me?Youare who I need protectingfrom.Fuck whatever the seal does. Stay out of my head, princeling.”

For the next day and a half, Ezra scowls at me. If his glares could kill, I’d be dead ten times over already.

We kept the routine from our first night. Armond whistles out, we make camp, Ezra glares, Eveera stalks off to release more energy, I follow, Eveera glaresandEzra glares, we fall asleep, we wake up, and naturally, Ezra glares. There were no nightmares on the second night, but Eveera hasn’t looked at me since the first. She hasn’t spoken to me either.

“We are about a day and a half’s ride from the border.” Armond’s voice booms over the sound of hooves clamoring through the terrain.

Orem’s head pops up. “Who’s meeting us at the wall again?” He asks.

“Commander Bennett - will greet Rorin and I first. Then he will let all ofyouin.” Will answers.

A collective snarl rolls through the group at the tone Will takes with them. The closer to the border we get the bolder Will has been with hisdemeanor. “Get your foul remarks in now, because once we are back on Vellaran soil no one will tolerate your treatment of the prince.”

“If that was your version of a threat Mousy, you might want to work on your delivery, dear.” Eveera says. Her voice shakes something loose in me. A tendril of hers pats his head as she passes his horse. For the first time ever, I see a murderous look flash through Will’s eyes. He’s a damn good head guard, but violence, murder? Not his thing. He prefers to detain and deal with people through the justice system. He’s only ever killed when protecting an innocent.

“Ror.” He calls, waving me over to him.

“Yeah?” I ask.

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