“I don’t think that will work for long.” I slid to the ground. “If this is a dream, why am I still out of shape?”

Declan took my hand, once again pulling me through the trees. “Because you expect to be out of shape. It’s your dream. Change it.”

It was my dream. Hope lit through me. Eva had made a mistake. I had power here. I pulled Declan to a stop. “Give me a second.”

Declan didn’t argue. “What do you need?”

I was momentarily humbled by his faith in me and my abilities. Hopefully, it wasn’t misplaced. I’d need a lot of magic for what I had in mind. “Can you loan me some power?”

He nodded. “Just tell me what to do.”

“Stay close to me.”

Declan let go of my hand and wrapped his arms around me, molding himself to my back. “This good?”

It was great. I cleared my throat. “Yes, thank you. Now I want you to close your eyes—it will help you focus on the bond.” I closed my own eyes, using my magic to show him our link the way I saw it—our magic, braided tightly together. It was a beautiful thing, each strand glowing bright. “See it?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, watch carefully.” I imagined my power flowing slow, like honey, as I sent a pulse down the braid to him. “Understand?”

“I think so.” A slow trickle of his magic came back through our connection to me.

“Yes, exactly. Now I need you to turn it up a little—I’ll need more than that.” The flow increased and I took it, blending his power into mine. If I could control the dream, then I was going to turn the tables on Eva. She wanted to see Declan so bad? I would give her what she wanted. Using the power, I crafted the images of three wolves identical to Declan’s wolf shape. I put a little pulse of power in each one for Eva to follow.

As a finishing touch, I gave them Declan’s scent. Then I sent them loping off in different directions. Hopefully, it would buy us some time.

Unfortunately, I didn’t know how long I could keep it up. I’d have to keep the magic going or they’d disappear, and I wasn’t sure how quickly it would drain me. We needed to put some distance between us and Eva in the meantime.

I started jogging, pulling Declan along with me. As I did, I directed a small thread of magic inward, changing the dream version of myself. I wasn’t out of breath or plodding—I had lungs full of air and endless energy. I could run for miles, graceful and fast as a gazelle.

We moved quickly then, Declan and I darting through the forest almost as one. Minutes ticked by, trees blurring around us. Occasionally we heard the hounds bay, but they didn’t seem to be getting closer.

We burst out into a clearing. I was starting to flag—too much magic out—so I yanked on his hand, getting him to slow down. “Stop, just for a second.”