I can feel a settling, a calming within Drogaem. I reach back and press my hand against what feels like a wall, pushing myself to my feet. Looking down, I think I can feel the floor beneath me, but there is nothing but darkness, a void so rich I feel as though I'm hovering in nothingness. But Drogaem's calmness brings my alert nature to the foreground. I strain to see through him, to understand what is happening. It's hard, and when I try to summon my shadows they are nowhere to be found.
Within the hull of my infinite crater a hazy picture appears. It's like looking through foggy glass, the movements understandable but I can't pinpoint who is who. Drogaem's voice echoes out around me. "Don't worry about me little mortal, I am feeling just fine. In fact, I feel better than I ever have before. Things are no longer going to work in dismay. Our next steps will dictate the future of the Underworld. Do your duties as my bride and you'll see the glory that I bring."
I don't even need to see to know that it's Briar standing there, Drogaem's evil touch on her skin, his powers leaching into her, trying to hook her using her feelings for me. The anger boils out, and I can feel every inch of me shaking as if my physical body is real. I scream out but my voice just echoes, on and on into the void. I take a deep breath and focus in on what Drogaem is allowing me to see, knowing he's only showing me because he wants to torture me. Being inside of my body, he knows what my feelings for Briar are and he's using those to twist my mind even further.
I stand still, picturing her, remembering how it feels to touch her face, to tap into her desires and her emotions. I can still feel the thin flicker of a flame in my chest, that part of Briar and I that is connected. It's weak, but I can still feel it. There's a rush of hope, fear, and even confusion. I'm desperate to contact her, but my attempts are futile. I don't want to tap into her too much because I don't want Drogaem to know that we are in fact connected by our souls.
I do everything I can think of, trying desperately to push a message out toward her. Trying to connect with Briar in any way shape or form. I need her to know that she's in danger. I need her to know that it's not me, not really. All around me the sound of Drogaem's laugh begins to reverberate, shaking against my eardrums. The window to the outside world collapses and a blast of energy slams into my consciousness. My imagined body flies back, hitting the wall that I've spent, what feels like an eternity, clawing against. I drop to the ground, anger swirling through me. Clenching my fists, I lean my head back and scream.
"No!"
* * *
Briar
I curl my fingers into the soft silk beneath me as I gasp and groan, my body twitching, unable to fathom the separation between the dreamworld and the Underworld. My body flails back and forth within my dream, my arms moving right and left, my eyes tightly shut. But even through the protection of my eyelids, the searing light blinds me. It radiates all around, purifying everything that it touches. The heat surges into my chest and travels along every vein and every muscle in my body. I shudder, my fingers pressing against my skin as they move up and cup my ears.
The screaming echoes all around me, but I cannot see what it bounces off of. I cannot see where it comes from. These screams are not bellows of pain and agony, but instead of rage. Anger so deep and so thick that it threatens to take me over. I stop moving and breathe in deeply, remembering the sensation from when I was approaching Drogaem's crypt.
As I center myself, I keep my eyes shut and try to listen to the voices all around me. The familiar tone of their melody forces my eyes open for just a moment, but the light is far too bright. I gasp, cinching them shut again and putting my arm up to shield my face. The last time I felt this heat I had Kane, my protector, shrouding me before I was able to burn out. This time I am all alone, feeling the anger, hearing the raw and unkept sounds of rage, and weakening from the brilliance that cloaks me and everything around me.
As the screaming continues, the voices shout back and forth with unintelligible words, the rage begins to sink further into my core. My breath increases and that all too familiar fear begins to slide into my psyche, slithering around my mind like a serpent. The feeling is intense and continues to build moment by moment. I have a feeling, a notion that I'm supposed to know what's going on. That I'm supposed to see what's going on, but I cannot find the strength to do it.
As the pressure within me piles to a fevered pitch, I slap my hands over my ears and drop to my knees, letting out my own bellowing scream. It flows out of me and all around me, muting the voices and drowning out my own fear.
I gasp, jolting awake. My eyes blink, no longer fighting the light, but now fighting the darkness. My breath is heavy in my chest and I reach over, lighting the lantern that sits next to
