Page 19 of Endless Terrors
“Did it work?” Laurie murmured. The question clearly wasn’t meant for me—my slowed heartbeat must’ve convinced them I was fully asleep.
Collith’s voice was a rumble against my fingertips. When had I put my hand on his chest? “Yes. She lowered her guard long enough for me to sift through her fear. It’s all true,” he said.
If I hadn’t been floating between realities, I would’ve protested the invasion of privacy. So that was why they hadn’t tried to bring up Lucifer again—they’d devised a new plan and bided their time. If I wouldn’t willingly give the answers, Collith would just take them. Loath as I was to admit it, his skills as a Nightmare were improving at an impressive rate. I hadn’t even felt him inside my head. I probably should’ve been madder about it, but my reactions felt muted.
Laurie made a thoughtful sound. “We still haven’t learned anything. Not really.”
“Haven’t learned anything? We know the Dark Prince is trying to rise again, Laurelis.”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not. There are a lot of powerful players in this world, many of whom can disguise themselves or manipulate the senses,” Laurie pointed out. “And Fortuna has caused quite a stir since her arrival at the Unseelie Court. It’s possible she’s caught the attention of the old things in this world. Things that have been sleeping for a long time.”
“Well, whether it’s truly him or not, Fortuna’s fear was real. I know that.” Collith’s voice was tight.
I felt Laurie pick up a strand of my hair. There was a barely-perceptible tug, as though he was twining it around his finger. After a moment he said, his words low and solemn, “If it is the truth, then we’re royally fucked, my friend.”
“I’m not your friend.”
Laurie heaved a dramatic sigh. “Must we keep pretending? This game has started to bore me. We’re both cuddling the same girl in a very small, very lumpy bed. That seems like a friendly pastime.”
Collith didn’t acknowledge that he’d spoken. “Dark Prince or not, we’ll deal with this new enemy like we’ve dealt with everything else … and pray that Fortuna doesn’t kill anyone else along the way.”
He was referring to Logan Boon. In an instant, I was back in that freezing parking lot, staring into Logan’s bleeding eyes. If I’d been awake, I would’ve winced.
Laurie made another soft sound, but this one was almost sad. “You know,” he said, “that’s the difference between you and me. I would never ask her to change who she is.”
“What do you care? You made your choice when you retook the throne,” Collith reminded him coldly.
To my faint surprise, Laurie didn’t rise to the bait. He just replied, his tone crisp with polite challenge, “So you have no intention of reclaiming your own, then? Is that what you’re telling me?”
Now it was Collith’s turn to heave a sigh. It had been a long time since I’d heard him make the familiar sound, and suddenly I felt the urge to smile, despite the direness of our situation. It was just so … Collith.
“I’m not telling you anything,” he said to Laurie. He seemed more weary than angry, though. I found myself wondering how Collith had been filling these long months, now that he’d been relieved of his former responsibilities. Maybe he’d driven himself to the edge of sanity, too.
The two of them fell silent. If they’d been human, they would’ve felt the need to fill it. But we were Fallen. Creatures that had learned to exist in the quiet, because we’d discovered that it was the only way to survive. Minutes ticked by. Out in the hallway, a door slammed. I was about to float away when Laurie broke the silence again.
“You know she’ll try to run again, right?” he said abruptly.
Collith paused. Then he admitted, “I’m surprised she’s still here, quite frankly.”
“Too stubborn for her own good. Want to place a bet on how long it’ll take?”
Collith didn’t answer, but some of the tension in the bed had eased. The energy between them felt lighter. I waited for Laurie to say something else, because he was Laurie, and he was always the one who extended a hand when it came to the people he loved. Like watching over Collith at the Unseelie Court, even after everything had gone terribly wrong between them. Or giving up his throne for me, knowing while he did it that I loved someone else. But when Laurelis Dondarte loved, he did it relentlessly.
Which was why I was unprepared to hear Collith speak first.
“Did you hear how they introduced her? At that first club?” he asked. His voice was thick, as if he was holding something back.
“Angel Jones. Jesus. That’s got to be one of the worst stripper names I’ve ever heard.”
Both of them shook with silent laughter. I was still lodged between them, and I felt their bodies moving. Laurie’s ribs whispering along the back of my shoulder. Collith’s chin against my temple. Laurie and Collith? Laughing together? I thought, nonplussed.
I braced myself for jealousy. But hearing their joy, feeling the power of their shared history, I only felt a tiny pierce of something. Something I couldn’t name.
If Laurie responded, I didn’t hear it; I couldn’t hold onto reality anymore. I drifted deeper into the darkness, and my ears caught the faint sound of a roaring sea.
Then the dreamscape claimed me.
Once again, Oliver wasn’t under our tree when I arrived at the dreamscape.
