“Phelan was not born with illumination,” he began. “He was not accepted into the Luminous School until I waived his entry. In fact, he failed every single entrance exam, but I saw the potential in him. I gave him a place in the school, I funded his education, and I ensured he received this portion of territory when he was ready to become warden. I have had a hand in shaping him into the magician that he is despite the fact that I have no light in my bones, and it would be a shame to see my investment lost before its time.”

I listened, and his words began to spark thoughts I had never entertained before. The duke had been married years ago, but his wife had died not long after their vows. He was a widower, childless. Heirless. And if the duke had played such a quiet but steady hand in Phelan’s upbringing—if he thought of Phelan as an investment—then the duke had greater plans for him. Whether Phelan knew it or not remained to be seen.

“You plan to name him as your heir,” I whispered.

The duke was silent, studying me with sharp intensity, as if he had underestimated me before now. “Yes, Miss Neven. You must not breathe a word of it to him or any other, you understand?”

“I understand, Your Grace.”

“And I want to know what is threatening him on the new moon nights.”

I could see no other way to avoid it.

I told the duke about the knight.

He listened with a scowl. “This sounds like someone who can control and influence nightmares.”

“I’ve never heard of such a thing,” I said, transfixed by the imagining. “How is the knight able to do this?”

“Something, or someone, is providing him with a door to enter the dreams on the new moon.”

“Who would have such power? A magician?”

Lord Deryn was pensive for a moment. “I do not know, but you will not be able to vanquish him in the dream realm. You will have to locate him in the waking world and defeat him here.”

“Not a small feat,” I said, but I was surprised by how eager I was for this challenge. I wanted to uncover the knight’s secrets. His purpose. His source of power. Even if that entailed me working with someone like the duke.

“Indeed, it is not,” Lord Deryn agreed. “But if you can find a way to remove his helm in the nightmare . . . you would see his face. And if you see his face and describe it to me, I would be able to locate him in the province.”