WHEN YOUR BOYFRIEND IS A dream-walker, you pick up a few lessons. One of the
most important is that doing physical things in dreams feels exactly like doing them in
the real world. Say, like kissing someone. Adrian and I had shared a number of dreamkisses
intense enough to spark my body wanting to try a whole lot more. Although I’d
never actually attacked someone in a dream, I was willing to bet a punch here would
feel just as painful as a real one.
Without hesitation, I lunged toward Victor, uncertain as to whether I should sock him
or choke him. Both seemed like good ideas. Turned out, I did neither. Before I could
reach him, I slammed into an invisible wall—hard. It both blocked me from him and
bounced me back at the impact. I stumbled, tried to regain my footing, but instead
landed painfully on the ground. Yup—dreams felt just like real life.
I glared at Robert, feeling a mix of both anger and uneasiness. I tried to hide that last
emotion. ‘You’re a spirit user with telekinesis?’
We’d known that was possible, but it was a skill neither Lissa nor Adrian had
mastered yet. I really didn’t like the idea that Robert might have the power to throw
objects around and create invisible barriers. It was a disadvantage we didn’t need.
Robert remained enigmatic. ‘I control the dream.’
Victor was looking down at me with that smug, calculating expression he excelled at.
Realizing what an undignified position I was in, I leapt to my feet. I kept a hard stance,
my body tense and ready as I wondered if Robert would keep the wall up continuously.
‘Are you done with your tantrum?’ asked Victor. ‘Behaving like a civilized person will
make our talk so much more pleasant.’
‘I have no interest in talking to you,’ I snapped. ‘The only thing I’m going to do is hunt
you down in the real world and drag you back to the authorities.’
‘Charming,’ said Victor. ‘We can share a cell.’
I winced.
‘Yes,’ he continued. ‘I know all about what happened. Poor Tatiana. Such a tragedy.
Such a loss.’
His mocking, melodramatic tone sparked an alarming idea. ‘You . . . you didn’t have
anything to do with it, did you?’ Victor’s escape from prison had triggered a lot of fear
and paranoia amongst the Moroi. They’d been convinced he was coming for them all.
Knowing the truth about the escape, I’d dismissed such talk and figured he’d simply lie
low. Now, remembering how he’d once wanted to start a revolution among the Moroi, I
wondered if the queen’s murderer actually was the most evil villain we knew.
Victor snorted. ‘Hardly.’ He put his hands behind his back as he paced the room and
pretended to study the art. I again wondered how far Robert’s shield extended. ‘I have
much more sophisticated methods to accomplish my goals. I wouldn’t stoop to
