“Happy to,” said Rose, steering me back toward the main part of Court. “Find out what would be a good day for Sydney, and we’ll set this up again—at a more human-friendly time.”

I gritted my teeth, hating the lies. “I’ll talk to her and get back to you.”

Rose walked me back, and I could tell she thought it was strange that I made a point of keeping her out of the suite. I blamed it on Sydney being a light sleeper, which Rose mostly seemed to accept. When she finally left, I found the excitement of the demo and the further deepening of lies had me restless and uneasy, making it difficult to fall asleep when I crawled into bed. It was also the middle of the vampiric day for me, further muddling things, but Nina had said Olive was on a human schedule, so she would be asleep now. When thirty minutes went by of tossing and turning in bed, I received a text from Nina, saying she couldn’t reach me in a dream.

Having trouble sleeping, I wrote back.

I’ve got plenty of sedatives from Sonya if you need one, came the joking response. Happy to share.

I smiled, wistful for a moment of the easy friendship I used to have with Nina. No thanks. Just give me a little more time.

Eventually, I managed to relax and drift off to sleep on my own. It had been a while since any spirit user pulled me into a dream. Usually, I was the dream’s creator, calling the shots and inviting others to join me with spirit’s power. My surroundings materialized around me, solidifying into a pastoral setting in front of a cute white house. Beyond it, a fence enclosed a pasture where horses idly grazed in the purple and orange light of a setting sun. Birds sang evening songs, and a warm breeze brushed my skin.

“My dad’s house in Wisconsin,” a voice behind me said.

I turned and found Nina approaching me through the long grass of the house’s front yard. She looked a million times better than the last time I’d seen her, with her curly hair pulled into a loose bun and a lavender sundress on her slim frame. I hoped this reflected some improvement in the waking world and wasn’t simply an illusion of the dream.

“It’s nice,” I said honestly. “The kind of place kids dream of growing up.”

She smiled at that. “We could only come in the summer. We had some family friends who were minor royals, and they’d join us with their guardians. Otherwise, it would’ve been too dangerous out here. It’s pretty remote . . . but you never know.”