It oozed over the threads, darkening them, until the loom looked nothing like it had before.
The two people exchanged money, and then the vision faded.
Before I could pull away, the scene shifted once again.
I saw the same battlefield, but this time, a woman stood at its center. Although, to call her a woman was unfair. She was otherworldly. I had no idea whether she was elven or pixie or human. Lush black hair fell over her shoulders. She wore a suit of armor made of red scales. Spikes tipped her shoulders and kneecaps. Her smooth, orange-colored skin clashed with her strange, crimson eyes. Her pupils were the oddest things to look at—instead of one pupil, she had three. Long and slitted, they fanned out from the center, each intersecting the other at the middle, reminiscent of a ceiling fan’s blades.
I shuddered when I looked at her. I got the distinct impression that she had slaughtered all those people piled at her feet. Her face revealed no expression.
I released my grip on the dream catcher. My breath sounded loud in my ears. Who was the woman on the battlefield? Or perhaps, what was she? Was she the Dreamthief?
The vision of the man and young girl stayed with me as well. I tried to make sense of it. I didn’t recognize either of the people, though in a dreamstate, that was no surprise. Both had seemed familiar to me.
I thought of the girl first. She seemed young. Although I couldn’t see her face, I felt she was human. Other than that, I had no way of identifying her, so I thought of the man instead.
He was surrounded by books, which I assumed denoted his intelligence. Also, when he stood, he’d towered over me, which in my mind meant he was important.
I heard footsteps and turned. Kull stood behind me, a can of Dr. Pepper in hand. I stood and brushed the sand off my jeans.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him.
“Looking for you.”
I rubbed my forehead, feeling a headache throb. Not even eight-o’clock, and already a headache. I blamed it on Kull.
“I thought you might have missed your morning meal, so I brought you this.” He held out the can. “I hear spellcasting can be a strain.”
I wanted to protest but took it instead. Ice-cold carbonation burned down my throat. The headache dulled. Food is the way to a man’s heart, blah, blah—it’s the other way around. Never accept a Dr. Pepper from a man you might have a very small crush on.
“Did you discover the source of the spell?” Kull asked me as I tucked the dream catcher in my bag, grateful to get the thing out of my sight.
“I think so. But it’s not what I expected. The magic is elven.”
He knitted his eyebrows. “Elven?”
I nodded.
“There were two people involved in its casting. A young girl and an elven man. I got the impression that he was intelligent and possibly high ranking.”
“If so, this does not bode well. It means the elves have been compromised.”
“You’ve spent time with the elves recently. Did you notice anyone acting strangely?”
“Elves have no personalities. It’s impossible for me to say.”
Touché. I rephrased my sentence. “Did anyone seem unusual?”
“Not that I noticed. Did you see anything else?”
I pondered the vision. Surely I’d missed something. The magic in the spellcasting was familiar, it was definitely elven magic, but it seemed very advanced. Only a few people knew how to control magic like that. Euralysia could have, but the person in my vision had been a man, so it obviously hadn’t been her. I could have done it if I’d had several years of preparation, and—
I gasped as the truth sank in.
Kull raised an eyebrow.
“It couldn’t be,” I whispered.
“Who?”
No, no, no. All my life I’d sought his acceptance. Why did it have to be him?
“You’ve discovered this man’s identity?”
“I think so.”
“Who is it?”
There were other mages in the elf kingdom. It could be anyone. There was no way it was him. Yet I couldn’t deny that sinking feeling I felt deep inside.
“My father.”
Chapter 30
The waves crashed behind us, though I barely heard the sound over my pounding heart. “We have to go back to Faythander,” I told Kull.
“Are you sure of this?”
“Yes. I have to find my father. If he’s behind my godson’s abduction, I have to confront him.” My stomach knotted at the thought of confronting my father. He would defeat me. His powers exceeded my own by a long shot. No way would I beat him. But I could try.
I strapped on my backpack with the dream catcher inside. My mirror case sat on the sand, and I picked it up. My reflection stared back at me, looking more worried than I’d realized. I snapped it shut.
Kull rested his hand on my shoulder. “If your father has betrayed you, then you shall not confront him alone.”
I looked up at him. His eyes matched the ocean, not just in color, but in intensity. Knowing I’d have a Wult warrior at my side made me calm down a little. “Thank you.”
He nodded. We stood there with the sound of the ocean surrounding us. I couldn’t pull my gaze from his. I wanted him to kiss me again. Was it a fluke that his first kiss had been so passionate? Or would it happen again?
Do I really want to know?
“Last night—” he started.
“No.”
His gaze deepened. “You refuse to accept the truth?”
“I don’t know what you’re referring to.”
I moved toward the sea wall. He grabbed my hand. He had no idea how much this hurt. I needed someone to be close to. It wasn’t fair that I had to live my life alone. He had no right to tease me this way. I tried to pull away, but he pulled me closer.
“If you will not discuss last night, then you must discuss how you intend to confront your father.”
“Why?”
“You must
