Page 50 of The Darkness Within Us

Eryx snatches the blanket from atop me and somehow manages to wrap himself in it while lying on the other side of the bed.

“What are you doing?” he asks.

“Trying to make you disappear. Now give that back.”

“This ismybed, and you need to leave. Get away from this place right now.”

I roll my eyes and body at the same time, turning toward him and propping my head up on my hand. My dress gapes open slightly at myneckline, but I do nothing to stop it because, again, this is only a dream, so who cares?

Yet Eryx’s eyes dart downward before he catches himself and brings them right back up.

I lift a single brow.

“Will you stop lying in that position?” he asks, and his eyes lower once more, as though he can’t help it. Finally, he just slams them closed.

“What are you wearing?” I ask, ignoring his question. Why did he wrap the comforter so tightly about himself?

“A pair of undergarments,” he says.

I feel a smile take over my lips, and I reach out for the edge of the blanket.

“Let go,” he demands.

“This is my dream,” I say. “Now drop it.”

“No.”

“What are you trying to hide from me?”

“Nothing!”

I pull as hard as I can, but not even in sleep can I will myself to be stronger than he is. Fine. I plump the pillow beneath my head before snuggling deeper into the mattress.

“Youreallyshouldn’t be here,” he says.

“And where is here?” I ask, eyeing the storming clouds. “Is it one of the gods’ heavens?”

“Certainly not.”

“Right, you’re here,” I say. “What was I thinking? Then tell me what my brain has crafted, why don’t you?”

“Your brain?”

“Yes, this ismydream. Do keep up, Eryx. Even my dream self can’t conjure a more intelligent version of you.”

His glare is more dangerous than ever, with his eyes glowing and his teeth bared, but even now I don’t fear him.

My subconscious has transformed him into a monster. An incredibly attractive one, but a monster nonetheless.

“What are you hiding from me under that blanket?” I ask. “Did you grow an extra leg?”

“No.”

“Are your feet webbed?”

“No.”

“Do you have a tail?”

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