Page 86 of Realm of Dreams & Shadows

I don’t believe it. I truly don’t. That’s not the Adric I’ve come to know.

And yet…

I can’t just ignore the fact that even though I like Adric, I don’t truly know him. And I sure as hell can’t discount how easy it must be for a Nightmare King to order death and betrayal.

But I saw his face as Soren flew away.

I hug myself to stifle a shiver. I’m not Soren. I’m a Bride. The last of about a billion. Why on earth should I believe I’m special to Adric? I’m a tool. And once used, I serve no purpose. I’m utterly disposable.

I look to Chase, wanting him to tell me there’s no reason to worry. But all he does is slide his hands into his pockets, his jaw tight. “I don’t know what he’d do,” he says quietly. “I’d like to say that my brother would take care of you. After all, you would have won him the prize he most wants. I don’t know why he would want to kill you, but at the same time, I don’t know my brother anymore. Not really.”

I nod, thinking how well his thoughts mirror my own.

Tia hugs herself. “Okay, so to recap—the safe space isn’t safe, the barriers aren’t exactly doing their job, the Nightmare King is actively hunting Cora, and once the wedding is consummated, he might decide he liked being a bachelor.” She glances toward me. “Except why would he? I mean, you’re totally hot and it’s not like he gets out much. He may not need you after you two fuck the barriers down, but he’d probably still want you.”

I grimace. But her logic does make me feel a tiny bit better.

“I know,” she says, her expression matching my mood. “This is officially the worst training session ever.”

She’s not wrong.

“Let’s take a step back,” Whistler says. “Why was Adric there? What did he want?”

“Me. He wanted me to be his Bride. To choose him right then.” I meet Chase’s eyes. “He said pretty much all of them chose him in the end. What did he mean by that?”

Another exchange of looks between the three men.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Griffin says.

“The hell with that,” I snap. “If I’m going to keep training—if I’m going to face whatever’s coming—I need to know everything. Tell me, dammit. What did he mean about the others choosing him? Because the barriers haven’t fallen. So what happened to the Brides before me?”

The silence stretches uncomfortably before Chase nods at Mr. Griffin, who begins to speak.

“He meant your ancestors with Imperial blood who came before you. Some of them…some of them chose to stay in his realm willingly.”

The implications hit me like a physical blow. “Why?”

“The Bride gets a hell of a lot of power in that realm,” Whistler says. “Must be pretty hard to resist.”

I think back to how I’d felt in that garden, how intoxicating the creative power had been. How wonderful it had felt to be the queen and not a pawn.

So, yeah. Maybe I did understand those Brides.

“But the barriers didn’t fall. Does that mean none of them slept with him after the wedding ceremony? Like ever in the entire course of their marriage?”

Chase and Mr. Griffin exchange a look. “Accepting her fate doesn’t mean surviving,” Chase says softly.

It takes me a second, and then horror washes through me. “Oh, god. Are you saying they were killed?”

Mr. Griffin jumps into the discussion. “Every royal court has assassins in the midst,” he says, with a glance toward Chase, who nods, looking miserable. “Especially when something as important as keeping the barriers up is at stake.”

I feel cold. Sick. “You’re saying someone in the castle killed them?”

“Before the betrothal ceremony,” Mr. Griffin says. “So that the King remained bound to his castle and grounds.”

I gape at him. “That’s horrible.”

“Yes,” Chase whispers, his hands clenched into fists. “It is.”