Page 106 of The Night Prince

Blake stands before me, and his hands grip my thighs. I’m shackled to the ceiling in the small cell in the manor house.

“If you kiss me, I will bite off your tongue.” The words come from my mouth before I can stop them, as if I’m the puppet in my other nightmare. Panic floods me. This is a memory.

Blake smiles, only it’s not Blake. He seems different, like he’s a puppet, too. His eyes are black, and his skin is too smooth. “Depends where I kiss you, little rabbit.” His voice sounds wrong in the darkness.

I jerk back as he drops to his knees.No. No. No.

The darkness stirs behind him, and the real Blake—covered in blood—slits his throat. The puppet melts into the shadows. Blake cocks his head to one side. My cheeks flame.

“This is your dream, not mine,” I lie.

He shakes his head and a dimple punctures the corner of his mouth. He steps closer. His heat and scent ambush me as he wraps my legs around his waist. “I don’t think so, little rabbit.”

I stiffen. “What are you. . .?”

He brings his lips to my ear. “In my dream, I’m in chains, and you are on your knees.”

My eyes widen. He grabs the chains and pulls. They dissolve like ink between his fingers. I fall, and my hands land around his neck as the floor disappears.

We hurtle through darkness once more.

We land in a pile on the floor. Grass tickles my cheek. The scent of summer floods my nose—flowers, and woodlands, and baked earth. I clamber from beneath Blake and raise my head. I breathe in sharply.

About one hundred meters ahead, a woman sits in front of a vast, moonlit lake. She has long wavy hair, and wears a baggy cream dress. A small girl is curled against her side, and the woman strokes her head. The full moon and infinite stars are reflected in the surface of the water.

My heart swells, then tightens. My throat is thick. I don’t remember this exact moment, but I know my mother brought me here.

Turn around,I will her.Turn around.

She’s talking, but the words sound muffled. I push myself up and walk toward her. Blake strides past me. I grab his arm, and my fingers curl around his bicep. This isn’t his memory to intrude upon. I don’t want him here.

He shrugs me off and keeps walking. There’s something determined in his eyes. The voices get louder, but no less jumbled. I hurtle into his back, and this time, I take him to the ground with me. We hit the grass with a loud thud. My mother should be able to hear us. She doesn’t turn.

Turn around,I will her.Let me see your face.

Blake pushes himself to his knees, and I pull him down. I crawl over him to get to her before he does. This is important. The weight of this moment hangs in the air. Blake feels it too. He grabs my ankle and drags me across the earth.

Mother!I have no voice. I elbow Blake in the side, and a soundless grunt escapes him.Get off me!

What is she saying to you?He looks like he’s shouting, but no words come out.What did she say?

We’re so close now we should be able to hear her. I can smell the water. I can see the kinks in her red hair, and the threads in her cream dress. The ground starts to shake and a crack appears between us.No!

I reach out, and my fingers almost touch her back.

She starts to turn.

The floor disintegrates, and Blake and I fall through it.

***

I’m too hot. Something hard and heavy pushes me down.

My eyes peel open. It takes a moment for my vision to adjust, for my mind to make sense of what is happening. Blake lies on top of me, and his arm is caught beneath my torso. His gentle breaths warm my ear.

We’re at the foot of his bed. The fire flickers in front of me. The pages Blake stole are nothing but ash. The warmth I felt when I saw my mother cools. There is nothing soft inside me anymore. I slam my elbow into Blake’s gut and he makes a low sound before rolling off me. I fall off the foot of the bed.

I land on the sheepskin rug “You snake! You treacherous snake!”

---