Selene’s throat constricted as deep fears resurfaced. She would fight her destiny, but could she win against the Dark Lady, even with all of her power? What would the Dark Lady do to her if she turned away? Kill her? Suffocate her here in the dreamscape? Trap her soul?

Did the Dark Lady have that kind of power?

Then images filled her mind. Ophie standing beside the window, watching the birds flit through the trees. Amara, with her fiery looks and dark auburn hair. A little boy with hair like Damien’s and her own dark eyes—

Selene’s eyes went wide, and she sucked in a breath. Did that boy represent a new generation of dreamwalkers? A male dreamer?

If so, to change her family, to alter their destiny, she had to start with the Dark Lady.

“No.” The word came out in a soft whisper.

The hood across the Dark Lady’s head fluttered from an unseen wind. “No?”

Selene’s resolve hardened, that same resolve that got her through the past year, the one that filled her with an unbending will. This was the line. She would not be moved. “I will not follow you.”

“You cannot escape the shadows, little raven.”

“Even still, I will not follow you.” I left my home and family behind to find a new way for us all. Her hands tightened at her sides. I will not be a dreamkiller. Not now, not ever. Even if it costs me my life.

There was a pause. “So be it.”

What little of the Dark Lady’s face had been visible moments ago disappeared. The dark hood and cloak surged forward. Before Selene could think, her face and body were caught inside the cloak. The back of the hood pressed against her face. The fabric from the cloak wrapped around her body, pinning her arms to her sides.

She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t see. She toppled over, unable to move her legs. The cloak continued to tighten its hold around her. Lights began to dance across her eyes like colorful fireflies, and her lungs were on fire. Panic became an animal set loose inside her body, clawing and fighting with an unthinking instinct.

She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t. A cold, tingling chill spread across her body as her heart tried to keep up with the fear inside of her.

The colorful fireflies disappeared, leaving her vision pitch-black. The cloth across her face pressed in so tightly it was like a second skin, with no way to suck in a mouthful of air.

She was going to die.

But it’s only a dream.

Everything inside of her stilled.

It’s only a dream.

Which meant . . .

She could free herself.

Selene went deep inside, feeling along every nerve, every limb. Moments later, she could feel the connection of the dreamscape, like strings attached to her body. Thousands of them. A tug here, a pull there, and she could change her entire reality. She focused on the fabric taut against her body, then imagined grabbing the cloak with her hand and yanking it away.