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I took a deep breath and shook my head, forcing myself awake. “It’s been awhile since I’ve taken a road trip. I guess the lull of the car can still put me to sleep.”
Her eyes narrowed at my lame excuse.
“Thanks again.” Before she could question me further, I exited the car and shuffled to my front door.
Keelyn waved out the window. “Get some sleep, Milly, and I hope things work out the way you want.”
Me too.
I lifted a hand goodbye, then rushed into the house, stepping over Jenks as he raced to greet me. “Come on, sweet boy. I’m going to need your help.”
Setting up my altar, I unpinned the memory circle from above my bed and laid it next to my gathered ingredients. My hope was to connect with Roarke’s energy ingrained in the treasures he’d willed through the dreamscape for me, providing a link directly to him.
If I was able to bypass Isabelle completely, hopefully, I could check on Roarke without her even knowing I was there.
Plucking the flowers from the woven twine, I held them in my left hand and slipped the circle over my right.
Connected through our future’s past, bring me safely to him at last. Cutting through the nightmare within, allow me to see my lover again.
A deep scream rent the air, the Weaver’s Gate flickering in the distance. Roarke’s body lay collapsed on the ground, leaning against the outside of the mountain. I ran toward him as fast as I could, my feet pounding the hard earth like a herd of gazelle fleeing a predator.
Falling to my knees, I pushed back the hood of his cloak. “My god, what is she doing to you?”
Roarke’s lids fluttered open, his eyes nothing more than glossed-over gray pools.
Thunder boomed overhead, angry and loud as if Mamu and Zaqu were trying to beat their way back onto this plane.
Roarke’s prone body was limp and lethargic, but at least he was still alive.
I slipped my arm under his, trying to heave him off the ground. “Come on, please,” I begged the gods. “Give me the strength.”
I thought if I could get him inside the gate, perhaps a fresh boost of their Weaver magic could break whatever spell was affecting him.
I limped closer to the open door, pulling him along the best I could.
Rays of cosmic light still poured through the top of the mountain, culminating in a pure beam of magical energy straight from the gods. Sparks flew from the concentrated beam, sending shards of stars colliding into our world.
I pulled the hood of Roarke’s cloak over his head, his previous words ringing loudly in my mind. “Only Weavers are allowed inside. And it’s important you understand that. Anyone not chosen who enters the gate would be destroyed instantly. Even with our cloaks in place for protection, the energy is beyond anything in this world.”
I considered taking the cloak for myself to give me the best chance of survival, but in his current state, Roarke needed all the protection he could get. Besides, without being chosen to enter, it probably wouldn’t matter anyway. I would most likely be destroyed the second I stepped inside. But I didn’t care as long as I could save him.
With every ounce of strength I had left, I dragged him through the open door of the mountain and thrust him into the gate.
Screaming at the top of my lungs, I woke in my bed. Jenks hissed from the floor and arched his back, growling at the shadow in the corner of my room.
“Did you really think it would be that easy? That you could show up in the dreamscape without me knowing?” Isabelle’s voice cracked with disdain.
It had all been another nightmare.
“Roarke is fine by the way. But you’ll never reach him again.” She stepped out of the dark, her eyes still the same sickly yellow-green as the last time I saw her. “I will torture you forever if you don’t give up this silly quest.”
Ah! So that’s what all this was about. She knew I was trying to break the curse.
I tossed back my blankets with dramatic flair and crossed the room. She might have tricked her way into the Weaver’s magic, but I had no doubt I was the stronger witch.
“The fact that you’re here only proves how nervous you are that I’ll succeed.” I shoved a finger in her face. “And have no doubt… I will.”
Jenks prowled behind me, walking in circles atop the sigil I’d traced beneath the rug.
“Now be gone!” I threw out my hand, Jenks pouncing straight up and down in the same instant. A flare of pure silver light blasted through the room, activating my spell. The sigil glowed brightly, banishing every shadow in my house and Isabelle along with them.
“Good job, sweet boy. You’re my hero.”
I knew at some point Isabelle would use her stolen magic to break my wards and come here, but I was ready. Now I just had to find a way to truly reach Roarke, and her latest nightmare had given me the perfect idea.
