Crowning Glory (In Bloom Book 2)

7: Knight of Dreams

From the moment Silver casted his spell, everything happened too quickly. Our bodies levitated through time and space at a speed unlike any flying broom we had ridden. It was all a blur that left our heads spinning and legs trembling even as we gently floated back to solid ground.

My familiar tried to walk on his hind legs, but fell onto his back, "Everything's still...I'm...dizzy...."

As the only one standing upright, Silver offered me his hand and helped me to bring myself to my two feet, "You shouldn't get up too quickly. I'm just relieved you're not..." his gaze froze on the scratches on my palm. "You're injured....my lady?"

The stinging tears obscuring my vision were not from the pain of a few glass shards. The quickening of my heartbeat and the trembling of my hands was not from my fear of this situation. The twisting of my stomach was not from the ride we experienced from Silver's magic.

"I'm sorry," I sniffled, "I know it's not real, but...it...my father and brother, I...."

"There's nothing you need to apologize for. What they put you through...I couldn't imagine anyone else walking out in one piece."

"I thought I got over it. I thought that I could...I...I shouldn't be reacting this way."

"Even though everything we might see is not real, that doesn't mean your emotions aren't," Silver pulled me close to him. I rested my forehead on his shoulder.

"Why...? What was he thinking?"

"I wish I knew. I'm just as lost as you are," Silver pulled away and kneeled on the ground. "We'll figure out a way to wake everyone up again, by any means necessary. And I'm honored to be fighting by your side, Lady Cassandra. You're one of the strongest people I know."

"Thank you, Silver," I wiped away the tears. "But what have we discussed about my friends using my title?"

The smallest smile crept up on his face, softening his gaze, "My apologies, Cassie."

With my emotions mostly settled, I looked see where Silver had taken us. We were outside of Diasomnia. Except, a major detail was missing. The thorns were gone.

"Cassie's now dreaming about Diasomnia?" Grim asked in confusion. "Madam Witch, I know you've had weird dreams, but this is....interesting."

"No, we're no longer in Cassie's dream," Silver explained.

Silver's unique magic allowed him to cross between dreams. Each time he passed from one dream to the next, Silver would travel through a space, which he called the Dream Corridor. It was the same space that flipped mine and Grim's stomach's upside down. How Silver could dream hop and not vomit was something I was immensely impressed by.

Grim sounded hopeful, "At least we're safe, right?"

Silver answered, "I'm not certain we can be at ease just yet. We may have thrown off the Darkness off its tracks, but there's no telling when it will return."

The Darkness was the blot-like liquid Grim and I witnessed back in my dream and it was something Silver had encountered several times before. He warned us that if the Darkness touched us, we would be dragged into an even deeper sleep. One that would make it more difficult for us to wake up from.

I wondered, "How did you find us in the first place?"

"In my dream, I saw a bird that gave off a mysterious rainbow-colored light. When I chased it, it led me to you."

"Do you know if there's a way to wake up from this spell?"

"If you receive a shock large enough, in your dream or in the real world, you can force yourself to wake up," Silver rubbed a spot on his forehead, "When I entered the dream world, I tried hitting my head against hard objects but it wasn't enough."