Dark trees twined with rain-worn spiderwebs shimmered in the light of the full moon, reminiscent of diamond-encrusted nets luring unsuspecting victims into beautiful destruction.
Standing in a clearing surrounded by the lethal webs, a woman waited with her back turned to me. I wasn't sure how I got there, or who she was. Only that despite the chill of the wind and the too-still quiet of the night, I was not afraid—or her. Of anything.
The strange haze in my mind wouldn't let me.
Keep your eyes open, a voice in the back of my mind whispered. Dreams and nightmares come to find you.
I shook my head to clear the haze. Instead, it merely wavered.
Standing in my nightgown, I focused my eyes on the woman and her ornate white gown.
The style was dated but familiar, with large ruffles and a high collar, the white stitching adorned with pale gems reminiscent of the moon.
Did she bring me here?
When I stepped forward and the leaves crunched beneath my slippers, she whirled around to face me, and my breath halted in my throat. We shared the same tapered almond-shaped eyes, petite nose, and curly dark hair. But whereas her lips were full and supple, mine were smaller, and her skin was a deeper shade of brown. And where my eyes were the same onyx as the mountain range behind us, her irises matched the color of the sky.
I should know her. Was she a figment of a portrait from the gallery? An assumption from my past?
When our eyes locked, something inside of me unlatched like the door of a horse's stall, and the haze tapered until clear-headed panic gripped me tight.
"Who are you?" I asked. Was she a dream? Was this a dream?"Where are we?"
She ignored me, and I realized that her stare was not directed at me, but instead past me. When she started forward, I made a move to get out of her way, to asses my surroundings better, but an invisible force kept me in place.
"Goodness," she muttered. Determination furrowed her brow—and irritation. When she walked, she passed through my body as if I were nothing but air, and as she did, a sharp burst of pain zapped the top of my skull, and a tidal wave of emotions washed over me.
It was always the forest. No matter the time of day. No matter the weather. She always found herself in a small clearing of the crippled wood. She hated the secrecy. She was furious about the circumstances that made it the only way to see him. And she craved to see him.
Not my emotions. Her emotions.
Wake up, Hayley. Wake up!
Nothing.
Suddenly, my limbs jerked out of my control, and I helplessly mimicked her movements, walking behind her.
What is happening to me?
As she walked, her anxiety jarred my nerves, and my lungs constricted for air just as her lungs did, and we looked around the glowing forest for him.
She needed to find him before it was too late.
Stop! I ordered my body. Stop it now!
It was of no use. Like a marionette at the mercy of its master, I did as she did, walked as she walked, and felt what she felt, the emotion and aftertaste on my tongue. My legs burned as we moved urgently along the trail deeper and deeper into the forest. Something terrible was about to happen, and I needed to leave before it took me, too.
Move, I thought helplessly. Move!
"I need to find him," she whispered. I resisted the words— bit my tongue so hard, that blood welled in my mouth—but they forced their way out.
"Where are you?" we called in unison.
Then, very softly, the gentle hum of music drifted to our ears. It started as gentle taps of fingers on piano keys. The melody was a haunting tune, filled with bittersweet notes, and fanciful nostalgia tugged at my chest. An ethereal hum wove between the lilting tones as though the song echoed over the mountaintops from a distant cliff. I heard this song before. But where? And where was it coming from?
Damn him and his little tricks.
Our feet moved in the direction of the music, and we swayed with the song, smiling, our shoulders lightening from the lovely sound. It reminded me of a lullaby from my favorite music box. My brother and I used to fight for a glimpse of the iridescent mermaid that twirled when we lifted the shell-shaped lid. One particular tussle sent it to the ground and since that day, the melody jingled off-key as though its gears choked on every note.
As our anxiety dissipated, the trees parted to a lake I'd never seen before. As though made of stars, its surface shimmered beneath a crescent moon, and the snow-capped mountain peaks behind it dipped in the same decedent silver glow. Along its flat, rocky shore, golden orbs of light floated above the surface. Some pulsed behind cattails; others rested on lilypads. They danced to the music. Their magic sweetened the tip of my tongue.
"Where are you?" we said again.
I jumped at the sensation of fingers on my shoulder. The spell broke and for a moment, I could move again. But when I turned to see who touched me, the space was empty. And when I turned back, the girl was gone—out of my sight. Yet, I still felt her. Her sigh. Her relief. Her love—for him.
He caressed her shoulder gently. Every touch sizzled along my nerves. Delicate fingers wove into her hair, and I dug my finger into my scalp at the sensation that coursed through me as well. Soft lips brushed the skin beneath her jaw. With every breath, with every touch, her skin ignited with fiery need, and I heaved a breath, sweat dampening my skin.
"We need to focus," I murmured. Her words. "We don't have much time left."
Instinct told me this was not the beautiful moment the lake, its music, and the magic tricked us into believing it was. Shadows would find me. The wolves would find me. I wouldn't get out of it alive again.
That was if I didn't burn from the inside out first. As he trailed more kisses along her jaw, his hands ran the length of her arms, and the inferno turned ruthless against my skin. It was like standing beneath the sun for hours. It was lying on hot sand. My heart pounded in my chest. It left me no choice but to wade into the star-filled lake. The shock of the water did little to assuage the fire under my skin. I continued, more and more until the water touched my chin, and the feeling of his mouth made me gasp.
I have to get away.
His laughter rumbled from his chest and into her back. She smiled, throwing her head back and laughing again. And then, I heard him speak.
"We have all the time in the world, my darling. Right now, I want you," he whispered, his voice low and breathless. "All of you." His lips slid from her mouth to the sweet spot beneath her ear.
"I'm afraid of what will happen if we waste more time," she said. Bubbles frothed from my lips when I recited her words. "We need to stop them before—"
"Ah—" he clicked his tongue— "Careful, my darling. You don't know who or what could be listening."
Her frustration melted into mine. "You're not listening to me."
"Why should I?" he asked, his velvety voice growing hoarse. He no longer held her gently. Instead, he held her too tight. It frightened her. It sent another tongue of fire lashing across my body. I tripped a step forward. His voice echoed in my ears. "When you're the one who wants to end such a beautiful thing?"
The ground slipped beneath my feet and an invisible force yanked my head below water.
It was dark and clouded with dirt. No matter how hard I kicked my legs, I didn't move. What was it that my grandmother said about dreams? If you died in a dream, your body and soul died with it?
Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!
"This isn't right," she said. My body convulsed. "You're hurting me! You're—"
My mouth opened in a scream. Water poured down my throat and her sobs pierced through me. And then, as the last of the water choked the air from my lungs, I felt his hands around my neck, his voice in my ear,
"I'm sorry you'll miss the festivities. I hear it will be to die for."
* * *