Page 33 of Realm of Dreams & Shadows

But as I approach the edge of campus, something moves in my peripheral vision—a shadow detaching from a deeper patch of darkness.

“Hello?” My voice sounds small and fearful in the quiet street.

No response, but the shadow seems to shift, elongating impossibly before melting back into the darkness. Surely just my overtired brain playing tricks.

Except…

I squint into the darkness, and for a split second, I swear I see a pair of wide eyes gleaming like polished onyx. Then they’re gone, and I see only the backside of a lean man with legs that seem too long for his squat torso. He’s hurrying away, leaving me alone on the empty street with my hammering heart and the certainty that whatever’s happening to me isn’t just in my head.

When I finally reach my dorm room, I’m half-running. Tia looks up in surprise as I burst through the door, flushed and breathless.

“Whoa, what happened to you?” she asks, setting aside the book she was reading. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Not a ghost,” I say, dropping my bag and collapsing onto my bed. “But something creepy. And it was watching me.”

“It?” Tia’s dark eyes go wide. “Like an animal?”

“Maybe? No. I don’t think so.”

Tia cocks her head. “Should I wait for that answer to circle around again before I jump on it?”

I drop my voice to something lower than a whisper. “I think there’s someone spying on me.”

“Like now?” She’s whispering too.

“What? No.” I realize we’re whispering and reset my voice back to normal. “When I was walking back. It makes sense, right? Whoever warned me away from the Whitehall party had to know I’d been invited, right? It’s not like I’ve advertised it.”

“Yeah, well, that’s easy. It was Chase,” she says, in a voice that suggests this is a dead issue. “You bumped into him the day of the tour, and then you bumped into him again before class on day one. And you’re adorable, so he’s all into you and he started watching you. It’s like a romcom.”

“A romcom with a stalker?”

“Well, the funny kind of stalker,” she says, swishing her hand as if to wave away my criticism. “And since he’s hot for you, he’s afraid that if you go to Whitehall, you might meet some insanely rich frat guy who’ll sweep you off your feet, and Chase will never have a chance. So he sends you the mysterious text. Besides, mysterious warnings from hot guys are practically an engraved invitation to adventure.”

I can’t help but laugh at her enthusiasm. “You’re insane.”

“Please. I’m the perfect amount of curious and reckless.”

“You also don’t have all the evidence.”

“Oh? Well, enlighten me.”

So I do. I tell her about Chase flat-out telling me to stay away from Whitehall.

“But he never said why?”

“Nope.”

“Well, that’s not helpful at all.”

“My point exactly. But at least he said it to my face instead of lurking around being cryptic.”

“True. And that makes him less dark and mysterious,” Tia says. “So, bonus, right?”

“Oh, he’s still dark and mysterious,” I say, thinking of my dream.

Her head cocks, like a dog who’s picked up on a specific frequency. “That sounds like a story you haven’t yet told your favorite roomie. Keep secrets, and you might wake up with frogs in your sheets.”

“Frogs,” I repeat, trying hard not to laugh.