But I don't know what's going on, only that when she's close I feel stronger. If I can just reach her, pull her closer, I may be able to break free of Drogaem's spell, but as it is, I grow weaker by the second. I know souls well enough to know that they can withstand far more than what I am going through, but that doesn't stop me from feeling as if I'm going to waste away, cease to exist. I cannot let that happen no matter what, because if I cease to exist, so does Briar. Her body will be used by Drogaem for things unimaginable to me. Things I refuse to even think about.
My dream spins me in a circle and I land hard on a rocky ground. My breath quickens as I sense Briar is near. I stand and look around, my vision becoming clear very quickly. I try to pull myself from the dream, but Briar's faith in me waivers back and forth. Suddenly a jolt of fear floods me, and I can feel Briar breaking on the outside.
"Hold tight little mortal," I whisper hoping that she hears me. "Be strong, I am still here."
* * *
Briar
As Kane storms from the room carrying a box that I wish I could see inside of, I let out a quickening breath. My head feels hazy and I wonder if he hasn't done something to me again. The sounds around me begin to muffle, and for a second, a voice whispers through my mind. It's so low I can barely hear it, but it is very familiar. "… I am still here."
I sit here in a trance, focusing in, hoping to hear it again but it never comes. After a few moments everything clears again and I can hear Willem shouting my name. "Briar! Are you still with us?"
I shake my head, and blink at him. "Yeah, sorry."
Standing up, I moved toward him, heading for the door. He grabs my arm tightly and pulls me to the side, closing us off from any prying ears in the hallway. I furl my brow, and wince as his clutch on my arm is painful. "Hey, ease up. I didn't do anything to you."
He sticks his finger in my face. "You're not as cunning as you think you are."
I stared at him with confusion and irritation. "I don't know what you're talking about."
He flicks his hand at my hair and smears the makeup on the corner of my eye. "I don't even pay much attention to you and I can tell what you're up to. It's very obvious. Are you trying to get yourself killed? Remember, you die, Kane dies."
Immediately I'm on the defensive, but I shouldn't be. Maybe he's right. Maybe I have been a bit too forward. "I'm just trying to get close to him. He seems so strange. He doesn't remember things that we talked about in the past, or things that happened. This new version of Kane hasn't even questioned me once about the fact that I've been hanging out with Lilith. The old Kane would have flipped his lid. He wouldn't have been mad at me, he would've been concerned that Lilith was trying to plan something. He didn't even blink an eye when she walked past us last night. Something isn't right. It's seriously not right."
Willem's angry face fades away and he crosses his arms over his chest. "I can see what you mean. You're right. There's no denying that something is going on with him, something that none of us have really been able to figure out. But I'm asking you, and you know I don't ask very often, but please stay away from him for right now."
"What is he really going to do to me? He knows about the soul bond, or at least the old Kane did," I reply. "Now I'm wondering what he does and doesn't know."
Willem shakes his head. "And until we figure that out, I want you to stay safe. You've revealed your powers, which makes you vulnerable, and a target. All he needs to think is that you're a threat to him, and whatever's going on in his head could snap. If for some reason he doesn't remember the soul bond he could kill both of you with one fell swoop. I'd rather keep you safe than have you running around here like a detective trying to figure things out. I'm here for a reason, and I'm not stupid just because I'm going along with what he wants. I don't want to make waves. Let me do the investigating."
As much as I don't want to give up on it, he has a point. I'm already fragile being a human, and if Kane doesn't remember that we have a soul bond for whatever reason, and he gets angry enough he could definitely take us both down. But I don't fully trust Willem. "Am I supposed to believe that you've been plotting to kill Kane all this time and now suddenly you want to keep me safe? You want to keep him safe? I struggle to trust you, I'm not going to lie."
Willem takes a step forward, towering over me. I swallow hard but stand my ground. "You have two choices. You can either trust me, or you can kill both of you by being stupid. Neither choice sounds that great, I get it, but right now we need to lay low until we can figure out what's going on. I can arrange to have you taken out of the castle and away from Kane."
I look at him with disbelief, knowing full well that Willem isn't known for his upstanding contacts. "And who would you trust to lead me away from here? Someone with a dagger in their back pocket?"
Willem shakes his head again. "They will not hurt you. If I wanted them to hurt
