Page 64 of When Storms Ruin

It was my magic fighting his. He had created this space for us, and us alone. That meant I could break free of it.

“Youwitch,” he spat, trying to regain his footing one last time.

Donika’s gaze darted between us, as if she finally realized that I knew. She urged her horse forwards, her staff outstretched towards me. Before her staff could strike me, Icreated a bubble of protection around myself, as Isaac had taught me.

A magical shield.

The magic rippled with purple light around me, and I could once again hear the faint sound of Nik’s voice screaming my name. I pushed more and more magic into the veil of protection, and the thick, black fog began to dissipate. The image of Donika and Corian undulated before me as she beat against my magic shield with her staff.

“Diana! Diana, can you hear me? I need you to hear me, Diana!”

Before she could break through my hold and shatter my magic, I took a deep breath and pushed one last surge of storm magic into the protection veil.

I was exhausted, and I slipped to my knees as the image of Donika and Corian faded entirely. I blinked furiously to refocus my vision.

Before me was Nik, roughly gripping my shoulders and shaking me, his voice loud in my ear. He called my name, over and over. The dense fog was gone, replaced by the streets of Prins as they had been only a few moments ago. The balmy spring night was back, and I could see Tess and Puck out of the corner of my eye.

Donika and Corian were gone.

It had been a dream. But…how? I hadn’t been sleeping…I had been awake. Did Corian have the ability to pull me into a dream while I was still waking? If so, he was far more powerful than I had originally given him credit for.

“Nik.” My voice came out as a whisper, and I gripped his leather jacket in my fingers tightly.

“Diana. Mother above,you can hear me.” He pulled me tight, so tight I couldn’t breathe, but I buried my face in his shoulder, regardless.

I gripped his jacket, pulling him closer until there was no space left between us. The feeling of his arms around me grounded me back to this reality. I recognized a tickling sensation in the back of my mind, as if someone was trying to break through my consciousness. I had no idea dream walking could be linked to the magic of the mind, but I now recognized the sensation of Corian trying to pull me back into the dream. I squeezed my eyes closed and shut him out entirely.

“Are you ok?” Tess’ voice was panicked as she kneeled before us, her hand on my back. “We were all walking and you just…stopped. You were blinking, but not responding. As if you couldn’t hear us.”

Nik released me only enough for me to respond to Tess, his grip still tight around my shoulders.

“I was pulled into a dream by Corian.”

“Who the hell is Corian?” Nik asked, his voice ragged.

“I saw him in the dream, the one where I saw the Noctani. He had seen me there…he is a dream walker, too. He pulled me into a dream against my will…and he and Donika were both there.”

“Donika was there?” Tess glanced at Nik, but he didn’t take his eyes off me.

I nodded. “She had a giant black staff covered in serpents, and some type of dark magic spell trapped in an amber crystalset in the bezel. I don’t know what the spell was. She said she had found me, and that by choice or by force I was going back to Akra with her.”

“Well, that sounds like quite the dilemma. I never was one for multiple choice.” Puck crossed his arms over his chest as he watched us.

Nik pulled me to my feet and Tess caught me, holding me upright.

“Do you think she actually knows where we are? Or did she only mean that she had found me in the dream?” I asked.

Nik shook his head. “None of us know that much about dream walking. Despite now knowing ofthreedream walkers, it isn’t that common.”

“We can’t stay here tonight,” Tess protested, gesturing towards the townhouse before us.

“Where else would we go?” I asked. “It’s almost midnight, and the last thing I want to do is lead anyone back to the safe house. It’s not as if we have another place on hand. Isaac told us to stay put.”

“Actually—” Puck started, but his words were cut off by a sharp glare from Nik. “What? Tess is right, we can’t stay here. He’s our last option. I wouldn’t suggest it if it weren’t a last resort.”

“I don’t trust him with this,” Nik replied, inclining his head in my direction.

“What other choice do we have? He is an old witch, and incredibly strong. If Donika or Corian found us there, he’s our best bet at keeping everyone safe.” Puck tensed as he spoke.

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