Page 25 of Realm of Dreams & Shadows

I tell myself all of that, but I don’t really believe it. I know what I know, and while it might sound crazy to a normal girl with normal dreams, this girl knows the truth.

But I’ll let him keep his little secret for now. And instead of calling him out, I smile and nod. “Yeah. Coffee would be great sometime.”

“It’s a date,” he says, and I grin in response, feeling both weirdly shy and a little giddy. And wishing he’d actually pick a day but feeling too girlie and nervous to jump into that gap myself.

“Great,” I finally say. “Until then, I guess I’ll be seeing you in dreamland.”

I don’t know what little demon made me say the last part, but he stiffens. Then, with nothing more than a nod, he walks away, shoulders rigid beneath his hoodie.

And even though it’s ridiculous, as I watch him disappear into the throng of students, I’m more certain than ever that he knows about the dream. That he was there. Really there. And that I’ve just brushed against something important—something dangerous. But I still don’t understand what.

And if this conversation was any indication, Chase isn’t going to be any help at all.

I glance at my phone, then curse when I realize I’m now almost late for Professor Valdez’s class. Perfect.

Pushing thoughts of Chase aside, I sprint to the classroom, then slip into an empty seat in the back row just as the professor begins.

“Welcome to Abnormal Psychology.” She’s petite with a no-nonsense posture and an updo of brown hair streaked with gray. “I’m Professor Valdez,” she continues, her eyes drifting over the class in a way that suggests she misses nothing. “Before we dive into the syllabus, I want to talk about why this subject matters.”

She paces in front of the whiteboard, her movements energetic. “Psychology gives us a framework for understanding the human mind. Abnormal psychology helps us understand what happens when the mind operates outside expected parameters.”

My pen moves automatically, taking notes even as my thoughts drift to Chase. He either really is the guy in my dreams—which sounds utterly insane—or he knows something about why I see him in my dreams. Which, to me, sounds even weirder.

“This semester, we’ll cover everything from anxiety and depression to sleep disorders.”

My pen stills on the page as a little flutter of hope spins inside me. Between Chase and my classes, maybe, just maybe, college will be the place where I finally find some answers.

By the time class ends, my head is pounding from lack of sleep and information overload, and once I’m out of the classroom, I take a moment to lean against the wall as I try to soak in this new reality of being in college. Between my nightmares and freshman basics—like, oh, getting to class on time—I haven’t had time to simply be.

A text notification buzzes my phone, and I pull it out of my pocket, expecting a message from Tia about grabbing some food. Instead, it’s from an unknown number:

Avoid Whitehall House. It’s no place for you.

I stare at the screen, my heart racing.

Who the hell sent this?

For that matter, who sent the invitation in the first place?

I’m debating answering or deleting when another text comes through, this one from Tia:

Where are you? Dying of hunger. Meet me at the food court?

I reply with a Y, then glance once more at the mysterious message before pocketing my phone. Surely it’s from Chase—who else could it possibly be? Other than Tia and Finn and—sort of—Riley, he’s the only person I know here, albeit vaguely.

Except the text doesn’t match the number he wrote on my palm. And while he gave me his cell number, I didn’t share mine with him. And I didn’t mention Whitehall at all.

Still, he’s all tall, dark, and mysterious. And I’m more than willing to believe that a guy who can sneak into my nightmares can manage to find my phone number.

I take a deep breath, then push off from the wall and head toward the dining hall, all the while trying to ignore the new and persistent feeling that someone—or something—is watching me.

Chapter

Ten

The sand is cool beneath my feet, and I squint as the late afternoon sun paints the water in shades of gold and orange.

“Tia?” I call, my voice swallowed by the gentle rush of waves. We’d walked across the quad to the beach just a few minutes ago, both sharing the drama of our day, then suddenly she was gone.