Then Sel is almost gone, more demon than human because he consumed my root.

Then Nick is back, but broken and bloody at my hand.

If this is real, then Alice…

If this is real, then the nightmare won’t end when I wake up.

“Oh God,” I gasp. “It’s… it’s real.”

The world cracks open, breath forced from my lungs.

Thunder shakes the earth beneath us. Smoke from the trees fills the air, clogs my nose, clouds my vision.

The world goes dark. In the distance, trees on fire pop and break, falling into themselves.

Finally, my vision clears, and I see what I’d been too scared to hope for. Both boys, real and here.

But Sel is not the Sel I recognize, not anymore. In a brief flash, I see what he’s sacrificed to save me—his eyes have turned bloodred, his fangs sharper, his features more angled and beautiful and terrifying. The hands at my shoulders withdraw, and there are black-tipped claws instead of fingers. He shoves away from me and Nick, scrambling back into the smoke before I can see any more of his transformation.

I shift forward and Nick releases me, holds a warm hand against my back. I turn to him, see his familiar face, the dimples, and the worn blue eyes. The soot smeared onto his cheek from my root, the singed tips of his hair. “Hey, B.”

“You…” My lower lip trembles. “He…”

Nick follows my gaze. “I know. We need to get him out of here.”

This is the worst thing I can imagine: that all we fought for and everything Sel had done to keep his demonia from overtaking him would happen right before my eyes. Not just through me, but because of me.

Nick squeezes my shoulder, pulling my attention. “Don’t suppose you know how to get home?” In the distance a burning tree falls, sending a rush of flames to the sky. “And quickly?”

“I don’t even know how you got here in the first place,” I reply.

“A long story.” He grasps my hand. “But we need you now. How do we leave?”

“I…” I squint, pulling my thoughts together. “Merlin didn’t build this place for someone to leave voluntarily. It’s a place for Arthur to wait until he’s Called.”

“But how did he switch places with you?”

“He didn’t,” I whisper. “I—I let him. I accepted his offer to live through me.”

The edges of his mouth turn down. Another tree cracks to the ground.

“You accepted Arthur to get here,” he says slowly, “so what is the opposite of acceptance?”

The lightning of the dreamworld threatens the edge of my consciousness, waiting for me to challenge it, but I won’t. Because if Sel and Nick found their way in, I can find our way out.