Page 9 of Black Hearted
My connection to all living things allowed me to remain cognizant during sleep or unconsciousness and move through dreams to visit the people I wanted, as long as they were asleep, too. The moment I collapsed on the floor in front of Queen Liliana, my subconscious mind became aware, and I dream-walked to my mother—only to find her awake and unreachable. It was like a closed door, even screaming and banging on it would get me nowhere.
I tried my father next—door closed. Then my eldest sister—still no luck.
Finally, I reached my three-year-old sister, Daisey, and reliefwashed over me when I saw the door to her mind wide open. She must be napping.
I rushed through the door, peering around at her dream landscape. We were in an open field of wildflowers, and Daisey was running through the colorful blooms, laughing and holding a cupcake in each hand. I’d never dream-walked with her before. I had always felt she was too young, but I had no choice now.
“Daisey, dear,” I called, using her family nickname. She spun to look at me with a goofy grin, holding up the cupcakes in her hands as if to show her excitement.
“Lorly!” She couldn’t say my name when she was a baby, andLorlyjust stuck.
My heart pinched as she ran to me and fell into my arms.
“Want a cupcake?” She handed me one, and I took it but didn’t eat it.
“Daisey,” I began gently, “I know this is going to sound silly, but I need you to give a message to Mother for me when you wake.”
“Wake?” She cocked her head to the side.
I had trained my other sisters and parents to sense when they were dreaming, but not Daisey—not yet, because of her age.
I nodded. “You’re dreaming right now. But I can visit you in your sleep with magic.”
“Fun.” She bounced up and down, shoving the cupcake into her mouth and smearing frosting all over her face and nose.
“Daisey,” I said, crouching to her eye level, “when you wake up, tell Mother that Queen Liliana took me. Tell her I’m being held somewhere with no trees or flowers for miles and miles.”
Daisey’s bottom lip quivered. “Took you? No fwowers?”
I didn’t want to turn this into a nightmare for her.
I nodded, keeping my voice calm. “I’m going to be just fine, but I need you to tell Mother the second you wake up, okay?”
She frowned but nodded. Then, the sound of her heartbeat grew louder around us as the edges of the dream landscape began to dissolve. She was waking—probably because I had scared her.
I needed to leave. One thing I knew about this type of magic was never to get stuck in someone’s mind when they woke. It could be dangerous for the fae and for me.
I rushed backward out of the door before the dream collapsed and found myself back in the blackness of my empty mind.
My dreamscape was void on purpose. I kept it that way so no one could enter uninvited—something I had learned from my grandmother, who had the same gift. In her days of ruling, another fae who was a dream walker had implanted thoughts into her mind, trying to manipulate the outcome of certain events.
Because of her experience, I guarded myself. I sat alone in the blackness for hours, waiting to wake naturally, until a thought came to me.
What if Zane was here in Faerie?
I didn’t think I could dream-walk into another realm, but he’d said he was coming for me. If he had found a portal into Faerie, that meant I could reach him—assuming he was asleep.
I’d never tried to dream-walk into the mind of someone I hadn’t met in real life before, but in theory, I should still be able to reach Zane. Even though we hadn’t technically met face-to-face, we had crossed paths briefly. That short interaction had left more of an impression on me than any other moment in my life.
His ghost-like image was seared into my brain. Dark auburn hair, shorn close to his scalp on the sides but longer on top. A sharp jawline, chiseled cheekbones, and a defined brow that might have made him look intimidating if it weren’t for his kind, dark blue eyes. My favorite part was the splash of brown in one of them.
And he was tall—perhaps taller than any fae I’d ever met before. He had broad shoulders that tapered down to a narrow waist, long legs, and thick, muscular thighs.
Even in my dream state, I felt heat rise to my cheeks just thinking about the handsome lord. My reaction to the mere thought of Lord Zane was alarming. There were plenty of handsome men in the Spring Court—some arguably more so than the mysterious Ethereum lord—so having such a strong physical attraction to a fae I barely knew was unnerving.
I didn’t know Zane’s character or anything about him yet, so I was undecided whether I should be running toward these feelings or guarding myself against them. I’d never been one to judge anyone on appearance alone; there was more to a man than just a handsome face and strong physique. But right now, I needed help, and my instincts were telling me to reach out to Zane.
Since his image was already in the forefront of my mind, it took almost no effort to find him. Relief swept over me when I saw the door to his mind was wide open.
