Page 103 of Somnium

“Leave her alone,” he growled, pushing himself up. “I’m the one who fucked up; she has nothing to do with this.”

Oneirios was on him in a single, powerful stride, his now-solid body pressing into Elias’s and forcing him back down. “She has everything to do with this,” he hissed. “You know that better than anyone. Or hadn’t I made myself clear over the past decade?”

His cold eyes searched Elias’s face, his perfect brows lifting in surprised amusement. “Oh,” Oneirios breathed, “did you actually think you could shield her from me? That I wouldn’t figure out that you’d found her?”

His features pulled into a look of false sympathy. “I can only imagine the strain your little secret must put on the relationship. Too bad you can’t just tell her.”

“You made sure I couldn’t,” Elias spit back. “The changes you made to my binding saw to that.”

Oneirios smirked, a self-satisfied chuckle drifting from his lips. “Yes. I did, didn’t I? You really should have read the fine print.”

The dream god straightened, his features sliding effortlessly back into a mask of cool composure as he tugged the hem of his suit and flicked an invisible piece of lint from his sleeve. Elias stood to face him, a muscle ticking against the tight clench of his jaw.

Oneirios just stared back, folding his hands delicately in front of him as he let out a soft sigh, the edges of his form beginning to blur. “You can’t protect her, Elias. You never could.”

Elias’s voice quivered. “I won’t let you get to her.”

A low, sinister chuckle reverberated from Oneirios’s chest, the shockwaves slamming into Elias with vicious force. “It isn’t me you need to protect her from,” he taunted, pressing forward until the fabric of his suit brushed Elias’s chest. “No matter what you do, Elias, you will be her end.”

“No.” Elias shook his head, the sharp defiance betrayed by the break in his voice. “No. I could never—I would never hurt her.”

“Hmm,” Oneirios crooned, tapping a finger against his chin. “Interesting. Then tell me … why is she crying?”

Sadistic delight sparked in the god’s eyes at the fragile sound that bled into Elias’s mind. Muffled sobs, Cadi’s sobs, sliced through him like a knife. He spun, frantically searching for her, but they were alone. She wasn’t there. Elias surged forward to grip the lapels of Oneirios’s suit.

“What have you done? Where is she?”

Oneirios smirked, his answering chuckle slithering over Elias’s skin. “Oh, it really is just too good.”

Elias stared at him, his panic rising, the edges of his vision burning red. As he watched, Oneirios seemed to flicker, and his expression shifted to something unreadable. The god lifted his hand to his nose, his eyes going wide for an instant at the red smear left against his skin. But before Elias could blink, Oneirios’s mask of calm confidence slid back into place.

“It’s time to wake up, Priest.”

The god lifted his hand again, and with a snap of his fingers, the moon-soaked scene dissolved, melting into a cold darkness. Details began to sharpen, the shapes surrounding Elias clawing at his memory but refusing to fully form. Through the fog, he was just able to see two figures standing in front of him, their features blurred and shrouded.

Elias tried to move, but his limbs refused to obey him. A cold fist gripped his gut when he realized Oneirios still had his claws in him, holding him suspended between dream and waking.

Trapped.

With a sudden lurch, Oneirios released his hold. Elias swayed at the violent return of control, his limbs still heavy with lingering sleep as waves of familiar sensations crashed over him: cold tile beneath his feet, the smell of his soap, the outline of his mirror, something warm pressed against him. Then, the god’s dark laughter whispered through the gloom, ricocheting against Elias’s skull.

“You could just do it, you know. It would be so easy…”

Elias raged against the haze that still blanketed his mind, trying to understand the taunt as a familiar, sickening pull re-emerged from somewhere behind his ribs.

He sucked in a breath as the remaining fog of his dream was ripped away. His vision cleared so quickly it made his head spin, and he blinked in confusion at his own reflection staring back at him. Pain shot through his arm, and his eyes darted around, searching for the source, only for his chest to be ripped open when his gaze locked on Cadi.

In the mirror he could see her clearly. Her terrified sobs shattered him as she clawed at his arm where he had it wrapped around her, holding her in place. Blood bloomed where her nails desperately raked over his skin. He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking his head, screaming in his mind to wake up, but this wasn’t a dream anymore. He was awake. Cadi was real. And she was begging for her life.

Begging him.

Her voice tore at him, pleading for him to stop, to let her go. She whispered his name over and over, terror and confusion twisting her beautiful features. With a jolt, he understood why.

Following her panicked eyes in the mirror, he saw it. Cold metal clutched in his hand, pressed to her temple, his finger brushing the trigger.

His gun.

Right where Oneirios had left it.