Page 74 of Wake the Dream

“It’s probably because you are now indebted to a witch.”

Yet she’d had the same feeling earlier.

The silence stretched between them, long enough for her to feel uncomfortable. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she turned to leave but stopped in her tracks when Kieran reached out to grab her arm. He kept his touch gentle, but the contact shook Illaria to her core.

“I need you to stop for a minute,” he said calmly. “Stop being angry and look at me.”

“We don’t have time for a heart to heart.”

“We don’t have time for an argument, either. Stop.” He grabbed her shoulders, closing his eyes.

Illaria stilled. “What’s the matter?”

“I’ve been trying to tell you. Something doesn’t feel right here.”

“Your senses are tingling, aren’t they?” She wasn’t sure whether to jump for joy or run in the opposite direction. Her own senses were going haywire. She couldn’t seem to make her body and her magic cooperate, which lent itself to the sense of dire foreboding.

“It’s just...” He struggled to find the right words. “It’s like something isn’t what it seems to be. I can’t put my finger on it.”

At last he opened his eyes and broke contact with her, then ran his hand over the bark of the nearest tree. He swiveled in a circle, narrowing his eyes against the dappled sunlight.

Everything inside of her rose to attention when he strode purposefully away. Her hair stood on end and Illaria struggled to keep up with him. She couldn’t have stood still if she tried.

She also knew better than to interrupt Kieran once he gave in to his intuition.

He stopped short and she slammed into his back. “What?”

“Illaria? Is that you?”

Her breath froze in her throat at the sound of the very familiar voice. When she peeked around Kieran’s shoulders, she saw a woman standing in front of him. Beautiful. Elegant. Not of this world.

Her throat went dry.

“Mom?”

Chapter 18

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