His exasperated expression softened to one that was rather sweet. “Don’t overreact, Nemesis, I haven’t shared my most interesting findings with anyone, especially not the Council. I stand by what I’ve told you from our first meeting: all I’m doing is to help you.”
I scoffed. ”Do you expect me to believe that when I know for a fact you’ve already shared my secrets with Blaze and Trinity?”
He stiffened. “You’ve met Blaze and Trinity? When?”
“Don’t try and weasel out of answering me.” My old resentment had returned, as unwelcome yet as burning as ever. “The moment you discovered my secret, you spilled it to your Nightmare chums.” Rather than feeling relief at having finally released my anger, I only felt more confused, as if the venom behind my words didn’t belong between us.
“I haven’t talked to Blaze and Trinity for years,” Darius said stiffly. “Not since we had a…shall we say, a disagreement. They can’t be trusted.”
“And you can?”
His entire manner suddenly transformed to the more gentle Darius that I was growing to care deeply for. “If that were true, why did I stand up for you against the Council after the flying colors? Did my defense mean nothing to you?”
“Your so-called defense was nothing but a ploy to get Eden to trust you so you could steal more information from her later,” Stardust said in a rush, as if she’d anxiously been awaiting the moment she could finally spill these suspicions. “Your helping her is merely a delay of your eventual betrayal. What other possible reason would you have to continue investigating her?”
“I’m investigating her because I leave no puzzle unsolved,” he said. “Like any investigator I enjoy mysteries, and Nemesis is the most perplexing mystery I’ve encountered yet. You should understand that, Glitter Ball. But I swear, Eden” —a chill rippled down my spine as he said my name— “I would never do anything to hurt you. No one will see this notebook; I’m the only one who can unlock it. You have my word.”
His eyes were wide and earnest, and I realized I actually believed him, as if my heart couldn’t do anything else. Curses. “If you’re really telling the truth, share what you’ve discovered about me.”
Darius didn’t hesitate to open his notebook. “As soon as I realized you could see dreams, I researched your power extensively. There is no record of an ability like yours having ever existed before, not even in legends. However, I’ve managed to come up with a few theories of my own.”
I twisted the sticky folds of my dress. “Like what?”
“It’s a fact that the ability to experience dreams of any kind is exclusive to Mortals, which means you must be—”
“Yeah, yeah, we’ve already established that Eden is Half-Mortal,” Stardust said with a pompous air, as if she'd come to the conclusion herself rather than discovered the information through Darius. “Do you have anything new, Spiderweb?”
Darius didn’t even spare her a glance. “I’ve concluded that your ability to see others’ dreams comes from the Mortal part of you, while your Dreamer part prevents you from receiving dreams yourself. However, today you managed to do more than view others’ dreams—you’ve actually entered one. It really is amazing.”
He shook his head, his eyes lit with wonder.
“How were you able to explore a place that doesn’t exist beyond a story created to entertain a Mortal while they sleep? And there are more unresolved questions I can’t even begin to come up with answers for, namely: why were you able to receive the nightmare I wove for you on Earth, when dozens of Weavers before me failed?” He smiled. “You just keep becoming more and more of a riddle, my little Nemesis.”
“I’m glad you’re so fascinated,” I said wryly.
“Oh, I’m more than fascinated, I’m thoroughly—” But what he was I would never know, because at that moment his gaze lowered to my dream locket, which I’d begun absentmindedly fiddling with. In two strides he was in front of me, so close I could smell his sweet caramel apple scent. He seized my locket.
“Don’t touch it.” I tried to tug it away, but his grip was like iron.
“Where did you get this dream dust?” Horror filled his whisper.
“What do you mean? I earned it,” I said hotly. “Or have you forgotten I’ve won the last four?”
“I know you’ve won the past four Weavings,” Darius snapped. “That’s not the dust I’m referring to. After last night your dust level was here.” He demonstrated with his finger; it was about an inch below my current amount. “What I want to know is where the rest of this magic came from.”
I finally managed to successfully tug my locket free. “I just told you: I earned it. You’re just misremembering how much dust I had.”
But a dark look had settled over Darius’s expression, all previous traces of amusement and friendliness vanished.
“Is this the thanks I get for defending you? I put my neck on the line to tell the Council there was no possible way you were involved in the dream dust thefts, only to discover you’ve mysteriously gained more dust between our last Weaving and now. Explain.”
“There’s nothing to explain,” I stuttered. “I won the Weaving and came to Earth to dream-watch. I didn’t steal any dream dust.”
“That’s right,” Stardust said. “I was with her the entire time.”
“Except for when you were ‘inside the dream.’” He made quotation marks with his fingers. “Since they’re made up of magic, you could have easily stolen some from within the dream.”
“You did say that next time you were inside a dream you wanted to try and take something from it,” Stardust said, already morphed in her notebook, poised to take notes. Darius’s eyebrows rose.
“Whose side are you on?” I snapped. “It’s not like magic floats around in dreams, just waiting to be snatched.”
“Since no one but you has ever
