Page 22

“We have to get her out of here.” Torvo stood and began to pace, but he’d only gotten maybe five steps away when he spun toward me, face falling. “I’m so sorry. I haven’t forgotten you, Nyah. We have to get you out too. We will find a way once we’re all safely away from your—her father.”

I couldn’t help but smile in return. “I appreciate that, but I’ve spoken to Rune. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know how to let me out. I’m trapped in here either way. But she did let me see Rivven.”

Torvo squatted before me, mouth open in shock. “She found a way to release you? Just for a short time?”

“No.” My face burned as I recalled the way I’d used her body. She’d been used by so many people, and I’d treated her the same. But I swallowed back that thought for later. “I was able to control her body and mind for a bit. It was wonderful to see him.” My voice broke. “But to be ripped away again…”

Torvo gripped his head like he could pry it apart and make all our pain stop. I managed a hasty swipe at my face before climbing to my feet and setting a hand on his arm.

“You’re right. If we can all get out of here and regroup, maybe we can figure something out together. We’re stronger if we work as allies. And I do think you can convince her, Torvo.”

“What makes you say that?” he asked, straightening to his full, intimidating height.

“Because I think she has feelings for you.”

Around us, the world shifted and morphed into Rune’s bedroom where I cloaked us both in the illusion of shadow. There on the bed lay Rune, but she wasn’t asleep in this dream, and she wasn’t alone. Torvo’s muscled body—maybe even an exaggeration of the real man beside me—held her close in an intimate caress, mouths pressed together.

As quickly as I’d brought us there, Torvo pulled us back to the woods of Astridon beside Mirror Lake. There, he paced, running a hand through his silver hair again and again, stealing occasional glances at me as I waited, arms crossed.

“We have not,” he finally said, then stopped.

“It’s okay. She deserves to be happy and to be treated with kindness.” I drew in a deep breath.

I recalled how drawn to Rivven I’d been, even in her body, I’d gravitated toward him like a dragon to her hoard. Considering all Rune had been through, if she was this comfortable with Torvo, even in her dreams, that meant she wanted him. Maybe even was falling in love with him.

“Please just tell me you aren’t pretending. Tell me this isn’t a game to you,” I said finally, searching his face for answers.

He turned away. “It started as an attempt to win her over to our side. To make her feel like she could fight.”

“And now?” I asked, stepping toward him.

“Now I don’t know what I feel. She is not what I imagined in a mate. But to say I am not attracted to her⁠—”

“Sure, you want to fuck her. Who wouldn’t?” I interrupted, pulling him back to face me while trying to tamp down the anger rising in my belly. “But do you have feelings for her?”

“I do.”

Could I trust him? Could Rune?

“Torvo if she falls for you and finds out your affections were a ruse⁠—”

“I am to marry her in one week, Nyah.”

I stumbled backward with the weight of his words. The lake began to bubble behind me as I digested their meaning.

“How long has it been?”

“It’s a month since we’ve returned to Centos,” he said gently. Carefully. Like I was breakable.

“I can’t tell time in here,” I said though it was more to myself than him. “The wedding is in a week? How long has it been since I saw… Is Rivven still alive?” I clawed at him, desperate for an answer.

“Yes. And I believe I know how to get us all out. Including Rivven. But I need Rune to agree.”

Hope bloomed in my chest. “What’s your plan?”

“Guests have been arriving all week from all the realms, so the protections the king has in place have been relaxed. There will be no sky shields, at least until everyone departs a day or two after the ceremony. We will retreat to our rooms and⁠—”

I held up a hand, knowing exactly what would be expected of them on their wedding night. I wouldn’t be surprised if Balram had the room watched to be sure they consummated the union. My stomach turned.