The Fae King's Dream (Between Dawn and Dusk #2) - Jamie Schlosser Page 0,10

few inches left…

Instead, his lips land on my chin.

My eyes widen in surprise.

So, it’s a kiss. Just not in the place where I want it. I feel a stab of disappointment, but it drains away as soon as Damon breathes my name.

“Whitley. My Whitley. I’ll fix you. I swear it.”

Suddenly, I feel his influence. My eyes get heavy, my body starts to feel weightless, and darkness clouds my mind.

“How?” I yawn. “How will you fix me?”

“You let me worry about that.” His voice sounds so far away.

I don’t know why I believe him, but I do. He’ll make everything better.

“My parents—try—help them—” Can’t keep my eyes open.

Before I completely slip away, I think I hear Damon make one more promise.

“If you don’t survive this, I’ll follow you into death as well.”

Damon

“Astrid!” The sound of me pounding on the wooden door reverberates off the stone walls in the hallway. “What did I tell you about locking your—” The barrier suddenly swings open. “—door?”

“And what did I tell you about barging in here?”

“This is an emergency.” I push past her.

“I know,” the little troll says flippantly, then adds a dash of sarcasm. “Come on in, then.”

Having a resident witch definitely has its upside, but there are times when Astrid takes advantage of the royal life. Can’t blame her, though. She’s about a thousand years older than I am, and as far as I know, most of her life she’s been living in poverty. When she resided in the Shadowlands, she barely had anything. Her small cave was about as humble as a home could be.

Now she has the master suite in the castle—which used to belong to my parents. It comes with two rooms, a huge bed, her own bathroom, and three meals a day. Plus snacks.

You’d think being at my beck and call wouldn’t be so terrible with that kind of payoff, but Astrid always has demands.

Conniving little witch. I love her as if she were my own family.

As I walk into the sitting room, I smell the logs burning in the fireplace, the musty scent of her rugs, and something new… a portal. I revel in the ozone scent.

Rubbing my hands together, I grin. “You know what I need.”

Of course she does. Astrid’s always five steps ahead. Sniffing, I step toward the far wall where the smell is stronger.

A lid snaps shut.

“Ah, ah. Not so fast.” The silk of her gown rubs together as she crosses her arms. “I’ll need payment upfront.”

“I don’t have time for this,” I grumble, all amusement gone. “Whitley needs me.”

There’s no point in explaining who my mate is when, clearly, Astrid already knows.

“This portal is different,” she tells me. “I’ll need to give you specific instructions on how to use it.” Metal scrapes against metal as she picks up her shears. “I can do that while I cut your hair.”

Tipping my head back, I groan. “Fine.”

She pulls out a chair for me and I sit, knowing this was inevitable anyway. Occasionally, she’ll let me trade secrets. I usually learn gossip while I’m dream walking, and Astrid loves a juicy tale. But bigger favors—like portals—always cost me my hair. It’s her favorite form of payment because she uses it to weave her rugs.

It’s disturbing to have hair mats all over the place, but as long as she keeps them in her living quarters, I don’t care.

After the first snip, she says, “I’ve programmed the portal to open in a very specific location. We’re talking exact coordinates.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

My respect for Astrid grows. This isn’t regular magic. Portals aren’t always accurate. The user has to be familiar with the point of entry. As long as they have an idea of where they’re going, they simply think of the location and end up within twenty or thirty feet of it.

But I don’t know where Whitley is. Not to mention, I’ve only gone to the Earth realm a couple of times out of mere curiosity. I don’t know my way around. Sure, I’ve visited many human dreams, but reality is often skewed in their minds.

There’s no way I could find Whitley on my own.

“You’re the best, Astrid,” I praise. “If I need to get to a certain room at the hospital, this will do it. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me just yet.”

The hint of apology in her voice makes a ball of dread form in my stomach. “Out with it.”

“This portal will only stay open for fifteen Earth minutes. Of course, time will stand still here until you return, but you must