BooksBarbecue
Back Dreams Lie Beneath Save as PDF
Chapters (55)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Map
  4. Part 1
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. Part 2
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 18
  24. 19
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. 31
  37. Part 3
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 38
  45. 39
  46. 40
  47. 41
  48. 42
  49. 43
  50. 44
  51. Acknowledgments
  52. About the Author
  53. Books by Rebecca Ross
  54. Back Ad
  55. About the Publisher

I stared at her. Before I knew it, I struck her down with a spell, aiming for her heart. She melted into smoke, into oblivion, and I realized on shaking legs that I had just vanquished the nightmare.

My eyes drifted to the dais. To the throne, where Emrys continued to wait. He held out his hand, inviting me to take the chair.

I took a step closer to it. Suddenly, it was all I could see, all I desired. I walked through blood, stepped over the countess’s body, and I was rising, rising to take it. All the things I could do, all the things I could change.

My ambition was broken by Emrys, whose gaze flickered beyond me, as if someone else had entered the hall. I paused on the steps; a warning crept over my skin. Someone was following me.

I spun to see who it was but was met by the blur of a shield, swinging to knock me off my feet. Pain bloomed across my skull, burst behind my eyes.

And down I went. Deep into the darkness.

It was peaceful; the darkness held me like a vise. But when the light started to creep in, I was met by a sea of strange sensations.

Cold fingers tracing my face. Cold fingers on my neck, covering my throat.

A ring of voices, calling a name that sparked nothing within me.

Anna? Anna!

A pant of breath, breaking through the watery commotion, saying, “No, let me take her. She’s mine.”

Arms carrying me, up into the clouds. Down into the depths of the mountain. A soft fur and bed and the crackle of fire. The smell of pine and meadow grass.

“Clem.”

It was Phelan, trying to rouse me.

My head felt split open. My chest wept with pain.

“Get the dagger out,” I whispered to him, but I couldn’t open my eyes or show him where I hurt.

“Clem.”

I drifted away from him and his hands, down into a place where not even dreams could reach.

image

39

When I woke, my memories were scrambled.

It was afternoon again, but the light was icy and tinged in blue, as if a storm brewed beyond the windows. I was lying on a bed of furs, Phelan close beside me. I watched his chest rise and fall as he dozed. Slowly, I put the pieces together, and I remembered what had led me here, shut away in his room with a splitting headache.

The moment I moved, he woke.

“Easy, Clem.”

“I want to sit forward,” I croaked, and he eased me up. The world spun, and I fought a wave of nausea, settling against the wooden headboard. “How long have I been asleep?”