BooksBarbecue
Back Reverie
Chapters (53)
  1. Front Cover
  2. Letter from the Author
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Contents
  6. • One •
  7. • Two •
  8. • Three •
  9. • Four •
  10. • Five •
  11. • Six •
  12. • Seven •
  13. • Eight •
  14. • Nine •
  15. • Ten •
  16. • Eleven •
  17. • Twelve •
  18. • Thirteen •
  19. • Fourteen •
  20. • Fifteen •
  21. • Sixteen •
  22. • Seventeen •
  23. • Eighteen •
  24. • Nineteen •
  25. • Twenty •
  26. • Twenty-One •
  27. • Twenty-Two •
  28. • Twenty-Three •
  29. • Twenty-Four •
  30. • Twenty-Five •
  31. • Twenty-Six •
  32. • Twenty-Seven •
  33. • Twenty-Eight •
  34. • Twenty-Nine •
  35. • Thirty •
  36. • Thirty-One •
  37. • Thirty-Two •
  38. • Thirty-Three •
  39. • Thirty-Four •
  40. • Thirty-Five •
  41. • Thirty-Six •
  42. • Thirty-Seven •
  43. • Thirty-Eight •
  44. • ∞ •
  45. • Thirty-Nine •
  46. • Forty •
  47. Epilogue
  48. Acknowledgments
  49. Excerpt from Be Dazzled
  50. One
  51. Two
  52. About the Author
  53. Back Cover

“You shouldn’t bother with Willard Beazley. He’s Eva Beazley’s oldest, the one who left. He hasn’t been the same since he got back from his holiday.” She raised her eyebrows for holiday, implying it had not been a nice one. “Doesn’t talk to anyone anymore. The poor thing.” She looked at Kane and enunciated her words loudly. “I Am Sorry For Yelling At You, Willard. You Just Surprised Me.”

Kane still couldn’t reconcile seeing his sister here, like this. Her curls were woven with downy blossoms, and she wore a golden gown that matched the vest beneath Dean’s coat. He gathered they were a young couple. Guests at the wedding and not main characters.

Good.

Still, Kane felt a subtle shift ripple through the fabric of this world. It was watching them.

He took Sophia’s hand and pulled her away from the ballroom, farther down the hall. She let him.

“It’s okay!” She flapped her hands at Dean. “He’s harmless, dear! Where are we going, Willard? What do you wish to show us?” Then to Dean: “This is perfect. An opportunity to see what the Beazleys hide in all these rooms. No one can get mad at us if we’re just taking care of Willard.”

Kane lead the trio through the cavernous house, looking for an exit. The escape took them through room after room full of indigo shadows and chocked with furniture, but never back outside, as though the house knew better then to let them go. They kept ending up in the massive library, instead. While Sophia poked through books, Dean took Kane to an alcove to talk.

“We must go back. There is no outrunning a reverie. You’ll have to unravel it when it is ready. When you are ready.”

Kane felt many things. Mostly fear, but also captivation. Dean was the prettiest boy he had ever seen up close. Kane bit down on the surge of electricity that came with Dean’s breath on his lips, his chin. An accent rounded his words, and it was powerful in a way Kane didn’t know he was powerless against. Kane turned away. Still, they stood too close in the narrow alcove. Kane didn’t know if they were enemies or friends. For now, they were simply close.

“You’re more powerful than you know. Than the Others are telling you,” said Dean. He fit to the curve of Kane’s back, and his knuckle brushed Kane’s temple where the burns began. “Never expect a world designed for someone else to show you mercy. When it’s your turn, you cannot flinch.”

Somewhere nearby came a click, then a yelp from Sophia. They found her at the back-most bookcase, halfway through a previously hidden passage in the wall.