Which is why, over time, I’ve gradually let go of most of mine. But some still bother me in moments of weakness.
Nicole peers cautiously over the cliff, one hand holding her hair back against the wind.
“Every dream leaves an energetic imprint,” I say. “If you abandon it without destroying it by conscious choice, it doesn’t die. I drains away. Into this river. They say it’s one of the most beautiful sights you can witness.”
Nicole’s eyes reflect the same intense hue of the sky. “Itisbeautiful!”
I step right to the edge of the plateau and sit, letting my legs dangle over the drop. Glancing over my shoulder at her, I pat the bare rock beside me. “It’s even better from here.”
She narrows her eyes, thenshakesher head. “No way I’m sitting there.”
“Is the Little Baroness afraid of heights?”
“I’m afraid ofyou. Do you think I’m going to just walk over so you can push me off?”
I laugh and pat the stone again. “The contract protects you from real harm, remember? Come on, you want to see it from here. I can tell.”
She frowns, clearly weighing her options. Then, her black stilettos with delicate ankle straps approach along the rock. She’s cute while trying to figure out how to crouch down in that tight red wrap. I offer her my hand, and she studies it for a moment, lips pursed. Finally, she places her fingers in mine for balance and eases herself down onto the plateau beside me.
We stare at the river in silence. Over time, the shapes become clearer, rising from the surface, sinking again a moment later. Toys. Houses. Cars. People…
“The river is also dangerous,” I say. “It entices with its beauty, but anyone who touches it becomes twisted beyond repair. Forever haunted by dreams that aren’t their own.”
“It’s real?” Nicole asks.
I lean over the edge, studying the way the colors swirl together. Just as I’ve always pictured them. “The River of Forgotten Dreams is real. It exists on the border between two worlds unknown to us. But what you’re seeing here is an illusion. One I created based on the descriptions I’ve heard. The actual river…I’ve never seen it.”
But I’ve always wanted to.Bitterness creeps in. For years, I refused to distort its true beauty by turning it into an illusion. But tonight, driven by the clock ticking louder and louder in the back of my mind, I gave in.
I was supposed to give Nicole her second trial today. I’d pictured her thrashing in the river, gasping while the current dragged her under. She had to understand that the only way to reach the shore was to surrender, to let go of her breath. Of course, she wouldn’t have died. The river’s just an illusion. But the fear she’d release, while struggling?It would have been more than enough to fuel me.
Except… I don’t want her fear.
I want her secrets.
By now—midway through the second week—I tend to get bored with my harvest. The novelty wears off, their spirits fade, and I start counting the days. But with Nicole, I’m nowhere near finished. I’m eager to peel away every layer of her.
How did she pierce through my illusion in the labyrinth? What’s lurking beneath the shadows of her past?
What else is hidden behind the mask of the Baroness?
She glances sideways at me. “None of this feels like an illusion.”
I face her, and the river’s beauty seems to dull. “There’s always a difference between truth and illusion. Truth is rich. Full. Illusion is hollow.”
I study her profile while she’s still mesmerized by the river. When she finally faces me, I take in the rest of her. I can’t remember the last time I was this captivated by another person. “I could createyou, you know. I could recreate every curve, every detail of your eyes…”
Her lips part, and a shiver runs down my spine.
“I could shape your mouth and make it whisper filthy things to me. Make it say all the things I want to hear. I could make the illusion kneel before me the way you never would on your own. And I could do things to it you’d consider unforgivable…”
Her pupils dilate.
“But when I ask it something real—something about you—the illusion wouldn’t be able to answer. It can only do what I programmed it to do.”
Her expression changes, suspicion settling in. “Why did you bring me here?”
I raise an eyebrow at the sharpness in her tone. “You mean, why did I save you from getting caught at the scene of a crime?”
