Page 7 of For the Ghastly and Beautiful

“What did you do?” Tal interrupts.

“I’d like to hear an explanation for that as well,” Imy mutters.

Ecaeris glances at me, and I already know what he’s going to tell them. He’s brought me back a few times in the past.

“It started when we were children. Occasionally, I would get pulled into your nightmares. We don’t know what the power is, but it’s there. I felt as though I was needed, and I reacted by trying to take you with me, Imryll. I’ve taken no one with me before, but I’ve woken people up. That’s probably why you felt the urgency to agree with me when I told Ada to come back to us.”

“What kind of nightmare was she in?” I question, not giving the guys time to wonder about his extra ability. “She hasn’t moved or made a sound.”

“I think… I think the darkness held her.” The Mongrel prince slides down the wall, sitting on the floor as he rubs his eyes. “Actually, No. I’m sure the darkness had her. Imryll knew too. I could feel her suffocating, being drained of energy and power. We wouldn’t have been kicked from her nightmare if she hadn’t woken from it.”

“Well, she hasn’t woken up…” Talodus let his sentence hang, holding his arm over our sleeping storm.

Ecaeris doesn’t look up as he amends his statement. “I see that. I don’t mean awake and alert; I mean, out of that particular nightmare.”

“So the darkness is gone?” Imy hopefully inquires.

“I don’t know.”

I shift the focus again. “What happened in the nightmare?”

“She was in a clinic of sorts. I believe it’s called a hospital,” Ecaeris explains. “But she was already fighting when we reached her. She didn’t want to be there, to be back on Earth. Sfear—”

“Don’t say her name,” Talodus cuts in.

I roll my eyes as Ecaeris peers at Tal, unimpressed by children’s fears.

“She didn’t want to let Ada go. You know that’s just a—what does Will call it? A superstition? Her name doesn’t call her to us.”

“You don’t know that.” The burly man crosses his arms again, set in his ways.

“That isn’t our immediate concern,” I remind them.

Ecaeris sighs. “I know.”

“We can’t leave her in the guards’ barracks anymore,” Talodus tells us. “Not only is she not safe there, but she may be dangerous until she’s taught proper control.”

“We’ll move her in here.”

I grin at the prince. “Into your room?”

“No,” he snaps back. “The one across the hall. Or any of them. Whichever one she likes the most. I don’t care. There’s a dozen to choose from. She can have her pick.”

“Someone needs to be with her day and night,” Imryll quietly admits.

My grin spreads. “She’s going to hate that.”

Ecaeris shrugs. “She’ll learn to live with it until we find the stalker and she has a firm grip on her element.”

“Connak said she’s been using water since she got here,” Talodus informs him. “Control shouldn’t be too hard to teach her. She’s a quick study.”

“Yes, but she didn’t have this much power before.” He glances up, tilting his chin in Ada’s direction. “Can’t you feel it when you get near her? It’s different, stronger than I’ve ever come into contact with.”

I nod, accepting his assessment. “How are we splitting the days this time?”

“I’ll move back in here and take most of the nights.” Ecaeris props his elbows on his knees, massaging his temples with the heels of his hands. “At least we won’t have to interact so much then.”

“Mmm-hmm.” I hum to aggravate him.