As Calix fumed over me, I was grateful Kinley wasn't here to witness my epic fuck up. So much for the gentle approach. Why did I have to blurt it out like that?

"C-Calix," I said with a wheeze as he tightened the band around my throat. "I am your mate. I'm Luna."

A tendril of dark hair swished across his forehead as he shook his head. "My mate would remember our mating ceremony."

"I don't remember it because it hasn't happened. Because this is a dream. B-but if you come home with me, we can make it a reality. I want nothing more than to make this thing between us official. I'll mate you. I'll marry you. I'll bind myself to you in every way possible, but you have to come home, my love."

His starlight eyes filled with tears as I spoke, and the shadows loosened enough that I could breathe. Sitting back on his knees, he gripped his head. Lines of pain formed around his eyes, and he rocked back and forth.

I took the opportunity to get up. Slowly, so as not to startle him, and I kept my voice soft. "You came with me to the human realm, and we—"

The stone walls around us shook, sending a spray of rock and dirt over us. The sharp bits cut into my exposed skin. Blood trickled down my neck and breasts. I covered my face to protect my eyes as another tremor began.

"Lies! You glamour yourself to hide your crimes."

The room shifted. No longer were we in a romantic bedroom, but in an open field. In the distance, I could hear dogs barking and horns honking. Calix wore the clothes he had worn the day we left the ice cave, and his handsome face twisted with so much anguish, it nearly broke my heart.

"Luna!" He screamed, falling to the ground and slamming his fist into the earth. Lightning flashed across the blue sky. "Luna!"

In the distance, two familiar Fae approached. Kinley and Nas. Their steps were wary, and I could feel the threads of Kinley's Dream Weaver magic fanning out like a net around my mate.

Calix saw them. "You took her from me! Give her back."

"Give whom back?" Kinley asked, hands raised in a sign of peace even as she worked her magic.

Nas looked at Calix like he was a live explosive, and that wasn't too far from the truth. Every second more lightning flashed until the sky glowed violet and burned my eyes. Fires burst into life in the distance, and the normal sounds of everyday life turned to horrified screams.

I covered my mouth. Was this really how it happened? How did he have all this power in the human realm?

"My mate." Calix sobbed openly now. "I can't feel her."

"Fuck, Kinley," Nas growled. "If he has lost a true mate, he's hopeless. Put him under now."

"I'm trying," she hissed, her face pale with strain. "He's too powerf—"

A scream tore out of me as black mist consumed Kinley and Nas. Scarlet ribbons coiled around the black, and when the cloud disappeared, there was nothing left of the two beyond a bloody stain where they had stood.

Calix spun around, his gaze locking on me. "Unless you want to end up like them, take me to my mate."

"It's me. I'm Luna."

Crack! The back of his hand connected with my cheekbone, and my vision dimmed.

"Take off her face."

"Calix."

Another slap. This one sent me to the ground. "Take it off."

Spitting out blood, I pushed myself up on my elbows, wincing as rocks poked my arms. Something was wrong. Why couldn't he feel the bond between us? That should be enough to prove my identity, but no matter how I tried to push my emotions down it, he remained unchanged.

Then I saw them. Two blurry, muddied shapes on either side of him. Phantoms with red eyes that kept their claw-like hands on his shoulders as he walked toward me. Viperous whispers poured from their lips, poisoning him.

I threw up a hand, pointing my fingers at them. "Don't listen to them. They're lying."

He stopped, glancing on either side of him. Then he looked back at me, his fangs lengthening as his anger grew.

"More tricks. There's nothing there."

Lurching to my feet, I wished Kinley had time to teach me more Dream Weaver tricks. Surely, there was something that could help me, but no matter how I tried to find the magic that had helped me escape her earlier, there was nothing there.

"Shit, shit, shit," I muttered, turning and running.

"Run all you want," he called out. The world blurred, and he stood in front of me. "You can't escape."

My wings burst out of my back, and I shot into the air, instinct and self preservation serving as teachers. Calix faded away to nothing as I climbed toward the clouds. Up here, I could have a chance to think. A chance to form a plan.

Up here, I could—I screamed as black mist wrapped around me, and seconds later, I found myself back on the ground. Pinned against the earth. My skin burned and blistered wherever it touched, and in just a moment, I was going to end up like Kinley and Nas. With a shuddering groan, I pulled my wings around me.

And all the pain stopped.

Through my feathers, I could see the black mist still surrounding me, but no matter how he tried, Calix couldn't get through them. I pulled my knees to my chest, huddling in my barrier and fought against the panic that threatened to overtake me. How could I get through to him? This couldn't be how I lost him.

That's when I noticed the change. The shimmering iridescence in my wings faded, and black smoke filled the glass feathers. Just like the doors leading into dreams. Through the haze, I could see Calix stumble backward, shock twisting his expression.

Slowly, I pulled my wings back and peeked out. A few weak strands of black mist rose from him, but as soon as they reached me, my wings absorbed them. Calix's chest rose and fell rapidly, and the monsters at his side gripped him so tight they broke his skin.

He nodded. Lightning struck the ground beside me. I screamed, rolling away from it. Its brightness nearly blinded me. The ground shook, tripping me.

Electricity jolted through me as one of his bolts grazed my arm, and the stench of burned flesh filled the air. I would have vomited if I'd had anything in my stomach.

"Let's see if your wings can protect you from this," Calix called out, raising his hand to the sky.

I knew they wouldn't. That they couldn't while they held his power. Trusting my instinct, I plucked two feathers from them, running my fingers over the smooth surface before I threw them as hard as I could at my mate.