The moment her breathing turns long and even, I reach over and slide open the drawer, closing my fingers around the vial.
Twenty-Nine
STEVIE
The campus burns behind me, angry black smoke blotting out the sky. Up ahead, the Cauldron of Flame and Fury glows at dawn’s desperate touch, the sun fighting to break through the dark haze.
I’ve got one thought, one mission.
I must find Ani.
I can feel his presence all around me, but I know he shouldn’t be here now, smack in the middle of my battles with darkness. There was no ritual, no dream sharing spell like the one we did at Breath and Blade. Some otherworldly force must’ve yanked into my living nightmares.
I need to get him out of here.
Choking on acrid smoke, I hike the entire rim of the Cauldron, but there’s no sign of him.
I close my eyes, reach out for his energy.
Ani, where the hell are you…
There. A flicker of recognition… a warmth and eagerness that can only belong to him. I open my eyes, realizing at once where he must be.
Gingerly I make my way, scrambling down the steep, rocky trail until I finally reach the bottom of the bowl and the crevices Ani and I last explored on the material realm.
I find him with his hands braced against the canyon wall, staring into the same crevice where we the Princess of Wands led us last time.
The same crevice where we sensed the Wand of Flame and Fury.
“Ani,” I call, as softly as I can manage through my rush of relief.
He startles, then turns, his eyes going wide. “Stevie? What are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here.”
“I was about to give you the same speech.”
“But… how did you get here?”
“We’re dreaming, Ani. Somehow you slipped into the realm with me.”
Ani curses under his breath, then steps away from the wall and pulls me in for a hug, holding on so tightly he nearly crushes my ribs.
When he pulls back, his caramel eyes are full of concern, and his energy spikes with a new emotion: guilt.
“Ani? What’s going on?”
“I just thought… I wanted to see if I could find the wand myself.” He flashes a disarming grin. “Save you guys a trip.”
His otherwise heart-melting smile is nowhere near enough to eradicate the anger surging inside me.
“We can’t stay here,” I snap.
“I won’t be long,” he says. “I just need—”
“Ani!” I gasp and shove him against the rock wall, hoping like hell we weren’t spotted. My heart is slamming into my chest, my mouth going dry.
Because there, gazing down at us from the rim, is Dark Judgment. He’s pacing back and forth, the tip of his staff glowing red.
“Ani, listen to me,” I say firmly. “We can talk about all this later, but right now, we need to leave. We need to wake up.”
