Page 129 of By the Flames of Her Fury

Then the air shifted, stretching thin as something disrupted the dream. Everything slowed. The flames licking across the floor barely flickered forward, and the kraken tentacles swinging around me became so sluggish, it was like they were wading through molasses. I spun to see a figure erupt from the shadows.

Everett stumbled, then caught my gaze with wide eyes. “Vera!” he called out. His voice was panicked and desperate, the way I remembered it sounding in the cells. He sprinted forward and threw his arms around me, fingers digging into my hair to pull me closer. I instantly relaxed against him.

But he wasn’t relaxing. His arms shook as they held me. “You need to wake up,” he urged. “Something’s wrong.”

“What are you talking about?” I looked around. “It’s just a dream.”

He shook his head vigorously. The scar on his eye gleamed brighter. “It’s really me, Songbird. I’m dreamwalking.”

“Wait.” I remembered the last time he appeared in my dream. “If you’re really here, then that dream with the river…” I trailed off, cheeks burning at the memory of the way I’d kissed him.

“Yes,” he said, breathless. “That was me. I shouldn’t have intruded,” he added quickly. “I didn’t mean to stay. I just—” His grip on me tightened. “You were hurting.”

I sucked in a breath, my chest constricting with his admission. But then the dream lurched. The molten fire behind us began creeping faster again, dripping from the walls in thick, glowing veins. The kraken’s tentacles twitched.

Everett jerked his head around, as if he could see something I couldn’t. When he looked back at me, terror shone in his eyes. “Listen, Vera, I just came from Arcadia’s dream, and I—I think we’re both in trouble.” He stumbled over his words. “I saw something, and then he chased me. I tried to wake you up, but you’re not responding. I think someone⁠—”

The stone beneath our feet split with a thunderous crack. The entire world quaked, and Everett’s form flickered. “Everett?” I tried to grab him, but my fingers went right through his body.

“You have to wake up!” he urged, voice distant and distorted. “Don’t trust⁠—”

With a rush of wind, he disappeared. The dream picked up speed, and flames danced along the ground with renewed vigor, kraken tentacles swinging wildly at me. I couldn’t catch my breath. What just happened? Where had he gone?

I needed to wake up. I pinched my arm, but nothing happened. My heart raced faster and faster to the speed of the oncoming flames. Gritting my teeth, I balled my hands into fists and charged forward into the inferno.

My eyes shot open right as the blaze engulfed me. I gasped and clutched my chest, Everett’s name still burning in the back of my throat. I reached across the bed for him, but was met with cold, empty sheets.

He was gone.

Adrenaline coursed through me, so thick I could taste it. I summoned light magic to illuminate the room and nearly choked on a scream. Blood sprinkled his side of the bed, the sheets were ripped, and the book he’d been reading was thrown on the floor. Looking farther down, I saw a piece of the bedpost was cracked down the middle.

My hand flew to my mouth. Who had done this? How long ago, and how had I slept through it? In my dream, he said he’d tried to wake me. My head spun, still foggy with sleep, but the taste of something else clung to the air. It felt like magic.

Someone had spelled me to stay asleep. Everett could’ve been gone for hours at this point. He could be⁠—

I refused to let my mind go there. I leaped out of bed, throwing myself into action. Something had taken him, and I would tear apart this entire palace—this entire kingdom—until I found him.

I quickly changed clothes and pulled my leather jacket over my shoulders, searching the room for the bag I’d brought with me. I hadn’t seen it since we got here. My gaze settled in the corner, where I’d thrown it that first night. I grabbed the strap and yanked it over my shoulder, and it split down the middle.

“What the—” I cursed as the contents poured out. The old map Odessa and I had found, a change of clothes, a compass. But those weren’t what caught my eye.

Dozens of pieces of paper, all different shapes and sizes, floated to the ground. I blinked in confusion. Those definitely hadn’t been there before. My name stared back up at me from the one on top, and I instantly recognized the handwriting.

I froze. Everett.

Leaning over, I picked the first one up and unfolded it.

Songbird,

I think Milo is getting tired of my constant requests to send these messages. The others aren’t very good at hiding their pity, but I don’t care. If there’s even a chance you’re reading these wherever you are, then I have to keep trying.

Please come home to me.

I couldn’t breathe. My shaking fingers reached for another, eyes burning as I scanned the contents.

Songbird,

Nox and Devora set a date for the wedding: next summer. I think they planned it so far out because they hope you’ll be back by then. Empress Clarissa is trying to convince them to do it at the capital, but Nox refuses. He says that’s far too pretentious for him. Plus, Clarissa and Thorne’s baby won’t even be a year old at that point. Devora didn’t want her trying to throw a wedding on top of taking care of a newborn.