Page 33 of Black Hearted
Panic began to swell in my gut just as one of the dream doors I was monitoring popped up in front of me. Without hesitation, I rushed through it, not even knowing who it belonged to, and was relieved to see Zane.
He was in a saloon, holding a hot bowl of soup and looking out at a band playing. As I sat down at the table next to him, he turned and looked over.
“Lorelei?”
I quickly reminded him that I was a dream walker and that this was real. He shook his head slightly, as if to clear it, then nodded.
“Right. I don’t know that I’m ever going to get used to this, but I’m glad you have this magic.” Turning in his seat, he faced me fully, sincerity filling his eyes. “I’m on my way to the Spring Palace. I sent a message ahead to your parents so they know I’m coming. I’m going to find you.”
“Did you tell them who you are?” I asked, a knot forming in my gut. The last thing I needed was for Zane to show up at the Spring Palace and for my mother to kill him on sight.
“Not exactly,” he said. “I told them I was a friend, but I didn’t tell them I was an Ethereum lord.”
I chewed on my lip but nodded. I didn’t know if that was the right decision or not, but now I really needed to reach my parents. I had to explain about Zane before he showed up at their door. Still, I could deal with that later. Right now, I needed to get some information to him before he woke.
Without thinking, I reached out and grasped his hand. “I tried to escape yesterday. I was captured again, but I got a look at where I am. They’re holding me somewhere east of the Turtle Mountains. My mother will know the general direction. Make sure you tell her.”
He nodded. “I will. I promise. I won’t stop until I find you.”
He squeezed my fingers to emphasize his point, and I blushed, realizing I was still clutching his hand tightly. Embarrassed, I pulled my hand free and reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. He was very sweet, but I reminded myself that Zane was still very much a stranger. I shouldn’t have been so forward.
“I’m … not sure how much time I have left,” I said, forcing myself to look into his blue-and-brown speckled eyes. “I made Queen Liliana mad, and she …” I hesitated, chewing my bottom lip, unsure if I should tell Zane about my blindness.
I looked down, but Zane placed two fingers under my chin and gently tipped my face up.
“She did what?” he asked.
I opened my mouth to answer him honestly when the saloon around us began to dissolve.
No. I’d only just gotten here. But I needed to leave before he woke.
“Just hurry,” I said, bolting from the chair and running for the door.
“Lorelei!” he cried out.
I ran through his dream door, but his growled words followed me before it shut behind me.
“If Queen Liliana hurt a hair on your head, I’ll kill her.”
Relief and joy swept through me at his words. I was counting on that. Because if I’d come to realize anything during these days of captivity, it was that Queen Liliana had to be stopped. And I didn’t think I had the strength to do it myself.
I waited in the darkness for what felt like forever, praying that my mother’s or father’s door would appear. Just as I was about to give up hope, my mother’s door materialized. I bounded through it without hesitation.
My mother was well versed in my dream walking, so the moment I burst into her dream, she grasped me and pulled me into her arms. We were in her bedroom, at the makeup vanity, where she got ready every morning.
“Lorelei, I’ve been worried sick.” She held me tightly. “Daisey said you visited her and that you’ve been taken by Queen Liliana. She told us she was taking you for training. I’m so sorry we believed her lies. We’ve been looking all over for you, but we don’t know where you are.”
I pulled away, and I saw her face was wet with tears. Her grief and sorrow made my heart ache.
“It’s not your fault,” I said. “She deceived us all.”
Her face started to fade in and out, and I realized I was on the verge of wakefulness. But through sheer willpower alone, I forced myself to remain in the dream. There were things I had to tell her—my life and Zane’s life depended on it. I knew I had only moments left, if that.
“I don’t have much time,” I said quickly. “Queen Liliana is draining my magic so she can go through the mirror portal herself—”
“What?”
“Mother, listen. A man named Zane is coming to you. I know he sent you a message, but you need to know that he’s an Ethereum lord.”
