Chapter 3 #2
“You were never just my love. You were my balance. My reckoning. If your soul can hear me, hold on. I’m coming. I’ll find you in the dark, even if I have to crawl.”
Tears slipped down my cheeks and soaked the bedding. I’d faced armies, monsters, and the fates themselves. But nothing like this. Not the yawning abyss of losing the only woman I'd ever love.
If I could shove myself into her world, into her pain, I would follow her even through dreams full of chains and death, and I would bring her back.
Farris curled up beside her on the bed, resting his chin on her thigh.
I rose to my feet. “Stay with her. Guard her. Please.”
Farris huffed as if to say that was a given.
I flitted to the library.
“My king.” Valera jumped out of the chair behind her desk and rounded it, rushing over to bow deeply in front of me. “I didn’t hear you were coming.”
“I just returned from…” I supposed it didn’t matter who I told. “From Halendor Court.”
Her head tilted. “Halendor, you say? How interesting.”
“King Tallin is dead.” More or less. “Dorion has returned to assume the throne. He’ll be visiting soon to discuss a treaty between our people.”
Her eyes lit up, and a hint of a smile curled her lips upward. “How wonderful.”
“I’m not here to see you about that, however. Someone told me you might have knowledge about dreamcraft chains.”
Frowning, she tapped her chin, her gaze sweeping through the multi-story room as if she could pinpoint what I was seeking with a simple glance. “Ah, yes. Hmm. If you’ll excuse me for a moment, I’ll be back shortly.”
At my nod, she hurried across the room and took the stairs on the left to the second level, where she rushed halfway down the loft area and stopped at a stack, her fingers tracing across the spines.
She returned with a book held against her chest. The binding was smooth but cracked in places, with sun-and-moon symbols faded into the cover’s surface.
She handed it to me, gently stroking the front before pulling her hand away. “This is the only book I have that discusses dreamcraft spells. Woven Between Realms: The Theory and Rituals of Dreamcraft & Soulbinding.”
I took it, holding it like a tombstone to my chest. It felt obscene, how light the book was. If this truly held the answer, if this was the bridge between Reyla and a future, it should feel like more.
“I did a bit of study in this realm once myself, which is why I knew where to find the book. Dreamcraft spells are used to trap souls in an internal prison where they’re unaware they’re chained.”
Valera rubbed her hands together, watching me.
“Dreamcraft chains aren’t regular bindings.
They live inside a person’s spirit. From what I learned long ago, they’re often built from pain.
Guilt. Despair. They trap someone in their own wounds, even if the person has long believed those internal wounds have healed.
It's a sleeping sorrow, I suppose you could say.”
Blinking slowly, she stared at the floor.
“A true soul match can attempt a Shadowmeld, an ancient rite to enter the trapped person’s spiritual plane via their shadow.
There, they have a chance, and a very slim chance, I’ll say, of breaking the chains and freeing them.
Only someone bonded to the soul can break the chains and the spell.
Most wouldn’t dare attempt it. It’s difficult. Dangerous.”
Her lips curled up before smoothing again, and her gaze met mine. “I'll be curious to hear one day why this interests you. It’s an ancient spell. I'm not sure anyone living knows how to craft it.”
Just Prager who should not be living. She wouldn't be for long. I’d seen her lying in a pool of blood, but it would take more than what I’d done to kill her.
“The process is deeply personal and dependent on emotional resonance,” Valera said, nudging a few strands of hair off her face and across her shoulder.
“It doesn't take only magic, but memory, love, and soul recognition. The most ancient and effective instances of this spell appear in records of lifebonded kings and queens.”
“What kind of danger?” My voice came out like gravel dragging across stone.
“A person wishing to break the spell must enter the soul path created between them, through their shadow. They must find their memories. Their truths.” Her brow furrowed.
“They won’t be happy ones, of course, or it wouldn’t be such a fierce trap.
Anyone taking on this challenge needs to accept all of this person.
Not only love them. Know them. They must also be willing to bear their burdens, and that, itself, comes with a great price. ”
“What price?”
She frowned, staring past my shoulder. “If they’re not strong enough, they could be trapped there by the same spell. No one could free either of them after that. They’d whither…” A shudder ripped through her. “Not a pleasant way to die, I’d say.”
She exhaled and squared her shoulders. “Few have what it takes to not only break the chains but to convince the person that life is worth living. A true mate can do it, however. If the bond is strong, they'll find a way to pull the other person away and break the spell.”
“Very good. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome to borrow the book for the night, but I do ask that patrons return all volumes by morn—” A blush filled her face.
She stiffened, blinking, taking a small step backward.
“Oh. Wait—no. You’re the king. I knew that of course.
I… This is standard protocol.” She glanced at the book again, then dragged her gaze back to meet mine.
“You don’t need to return it. You can keep it as long as you like.
” She shook her head, brushing her hand down her waist. “All the books here are yours, my king.”
“I'll take good care of it and return it once I’ve finished. Thank you.”
I flitted back to our suite.
If the fates meant to test me, they’d better be ready.
“Hold on, Wildfire,” I whispered into the dark. “I’m coming.”