The Art of Blood and Power (Book 2 in The Gifted Trilogy)

7- Nightmares and Wild Dreams

Coldness gripped my chest as I opened my eyes to reveal a world of fog and shadows. Stumbling forward, I spun around slowly, desperately trying to gain a sense of direction against an ocean of darkness. My breath fogged around my face as the faint noise of a voice rang through the maze of fog.

The voice held the lightness of a child with the fear of someone in danger. I strained my ears listening and slowly began to move in the direction of the nameless voice. My heart thundered in my chest as I desperately searched my surroundings to no avail. I might as well have been walking with my eyes closed.

The voice began to get louder as I began to make out a few of the words. "What are you... I don't want... please..." My pace hastened at the alarm in the voice but there seemed to be no end to the endless fog and shadows that encircled me.

"You're late" A different voice sounded, this one deeper and far more cold. I froze in my tracks at the sound of his voice, unable to move as his words struck a cord deep inside me of a dread I knew I would never fully forget.

All at once, the fog surrounding me disappeared, blowing away to find two figures in front of me. One was the body of a boy with an unrecognizable face. If I stared at his face for long enough, it eventually morphed into a different face, each one a stranger to me. The only similarity between each child was the fear on their faces and the words they kept repeating: "please don't do this to me. Please, let me go."

In front of the altering child stood Nox in a black suit, his back to me and his hands clasped behind his back. "We don't have all day, little wolf" he spoke, his voice cutting through the air like a knife and causing the kid to flinch.

I was no longer in control of my legs as I steadily approached him, stopping once I reached his side. The trembling boy slowly dropped to his knees while his eyes tried to translate his desperation to me.

"Who is he?" I heard myself ask Nox, though I wasn't the one in control of my own words anymore.

"Expendable" Nox replied in his emotionless tone. "Or, in your case, practice."

The boy dropped his head as his blond hair morphed into one of auburn, a similar shade to Tessa's.

"I don't have all day, little wolf" Nox hummed. As if it were in automatic reaction to his words, my hand began to rise until it was aimed right at the boy's head. Tears streamed down his face as he continued pleading. "Please, miss. I'll do anything. I'll-"

His pleadings ceased as I clenched my fist. All at once, the boy's entire body stiffened as he stared emotionlessly at me. His blue eyes had gone entirely pitch black and he slowly lowered himself from his knees into a bow.

"It feels good, doesn't it" Nox murmured, his voice right beside my ear. "The power. The knowledge that, with a snap of your fingers, you could end his life right here. I know you feel a draw to that power, and I know it will inevitably consume you, as it does us all."

Slowly, the boy lifted his head as a replica of Nox's cruel smirk broke across his face. "I am at your mercy," the boy's voice lacked any of the emotion it previously held. Bowing his head, he added, "my queen."

I bolted straight up in bed, gasping for air as I took in my surroundings and slowly pieced together what was real and what was a nightmare. I was in the Ember Court. Nox was nowhere near. It was just a bad dream.

I pressed my palms into my eyelids hard enough that white stars clouded my vision, the pressure relieving some of the fear and exhaustion. I ripped the sheets away from my skin, even the slightest touch of them resembling the grip of hands ready to pull me down. I pressed my hand to my chest, silently pleading with myself for my pulse to return to a steady beat.