Damien’s mouth was agape. “What did you hear?”

“I thought I heard you say that the dreamwalking gift still exists. And that Selene has it.”

Damien had done it. He had shared House Ravenwood’s secret, the one guarded by the matriarch of the house. But did that mean . . .

Was Selene the new grand lady of Ravenwood? Had her power surpassed that of Lady Ragna, and the ancient power of House Ravenwood now recognized her as the new head?

He stared down at his desk. A change in the head of house due to the presence of a vastly more powerful house member was rare, but it could happen. Long ago, House Friere had experienced such, and there were a few other records of this occurrence. If these dreams were indeed Selene’s doing—that somehow she was dreamwalking in multiple minds without touching them—it meant that she was more powerful than even she knew. And Damien himself had seen her mark and experienced her power.

“I think the shared dream with the raven and the dark figure are Selene’s doing,” Damien said slowly, looking up, “but I’m not sure how.”

Taegis shook his head, dazed. “I thought the original members of House Ravenwood were wiped out. The dreamwalking gift gone.”

“Not quite.” He still couldn’t believe he was sharing this.

Taegis seemed to catch on to that. “I don’t know much about house secrets, but isn’t this one of them? How are you telling me these things?”

“I’m not sure yet, but I have a feeling I know why.” Damien held his head in his hands, a jumble of thoughts scattering through his brain as if a great wind had come and torn through his mind.

Selene was the new head of House Ravenwood. Did Lady Ragna know? And what were these dreams about? Who was this dark figure, and why were people collapsing from the dream? Was Selene’s burgeoning power a threat to him and his people?

He stared down at his palms. He now held in his hands a potent secret, and he wanted to be very careful with what he did with this information—not for the sake of House Ravenwood, but for the sake of Selene. The dreamwalking gift had not been seen publicly since the first razing of the empire. This kind of secret exposed could cause distrust and fear if not handled carefully, even amongst his own people.

Even within his own heart.

He loved Selene, but the safety of his people came first. He would need to see to that. However . . .

This new development meant that House Ravenwood’s secrets were theirs. This could change everything, both with the coalition and with the Great Houses.

Maybe even the war.

31

By the time Damien finished speaking to Taegis, it was close to midnight. Too tired to eat, he headed for his own room for the night. The hallways were quiet, with only the occasional guard on his nightly watch.

With the secrets of House Ravenwood under Selene’s control now, they could share with the other houses at Lux Casta that the dreamwalking gift still existed, what it had been used for in the past, and what Ravenwood’s role had been in inciting the events that had led to the invasion of the Dominia Empire. He wanted to be careful to navigate the talks in such a way that it did not color House Ravenwood in a bad light, but rather provided a cautionary tale. Yes, Ravenwood had become a bitter and hateful house, but it began when the other houses left Ravenwood to be ravaged by the empire during the first razing. It was a warning of what not to do in the upcoming war.