Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 436

Chapter 436: Shards
Mia was the first to hear Trace’s scream of effort. She knew the sensation behind that sound. She’d felt it before. He was beginning to lose control, and become overwhelmed by his magic use.

And there was not a single thing she could do about it.

“There! That one is the most dangerous!” She pointed on the left to where her pull was following the nimble path of a harpy-faced worm. “Its weak spot is behind the ear!”

The magic flowering through her was steady, and she tried to control it more precisely than she had in the forest. Looking for each most dangerous creature, then searching for its weak spot. The mental images flew in rapidly and tightly in succession, but she focused on discarding all but the most vital information.

Mia had a raging headache, but she was managing to keep her mind from falling apart.

“That rabbit-thing, with horns!” She cried to Ben, “It’s tail is vulnerable!”

Mia brandished only a small knife that Sapphira happened to have. The princess carried a ceremonial sword, a stiletto dagger that she kept in one boot for self-defense (as if anyone would get past her many guards in normal circumstances), and this knife she kept for cutting fruit.

It was better than nothing!

Anaisa held the stiletto, not entirely confident in the way she wielded it, but certainly more experienced than Mia.

“The belly, Grandpa! Where the tentacles come together, get Webster to cut it there!”

She had no time to follow up as something whizzed at her feet. Instinctively, she jumped and was almost knocked over by a strange yellow beast about the size of a barn mouse. Mia squealed and stomped on it, glad it wasn’t any larger.

But it wasn’t alone. Ford appeared to be fighting a dozen or so all by himself, but he couldn’t stop all of them!

It was time for the women to join the fight in earnest, and hope for the best with what weapons and experience they had.

Sapphira seemed to be holding her own better than Mia expected a princess to do. Perhaps her bodyguards gave her lessons on defense and use of weaponry?

Ben had even forbidden her from giving her sword to anyone, though it was supposedly ceremonial… hopefully, whatever she’d learned would carry the princess through!

_

Anaisa fended off one of the sharp-fanged rodents that wriggled its way past Ford. She was worried, so worried, about Trace, but her assigned place in this moment was back here, with the women. Running into the fray would only distract him from his work, and wreck everything.

She needed almost constant reminders of that fact.

It was almost a mantra in her head, a barrage of self-talk to keep doing her own job, and let Trace do his. She wasn’t magical. She wasn’t a trained combatant. Stay put. Work hard.

Her use here was limited, and she must remain within that sphere in order to keep from getting in someone else’s way. If she were hurt, it would only remove someone else from the picture to try to tend her.

She couldn’t be a burden.

So she continued to help in what small ways she could, here and there to distract creatures, or finish off wounded stragglers that were weak enough for her to kill.

Mia was more helpful than a girl of her age had any right to be in combat. The girl was calling out instructions and information with the authority of a war-hardened general.

And Anaisa had met a few of those over the years.

Her husband’s voice rang through the air.

“I can’t hold it!” Trace cried out. “I can’t…”

Anaisa’s heart froze. She’d been trying not to look at Trace lest she become distracted, but she couldn’t ignore him any longer. He was clearly on the verge of collapse, and she ran towards him, heedless of her own safety.

“Hold,” The ever-present wight intoned, oddly calm amidst the combat occurring on all sides.

She wasn’t sure if it was speaking to her, or to Trace, but she ignored the instruction either way. The enigmatic being did not pursue her.

“Hold on, Trace!” She cried as Ben managed to cut off the path of a crazed 10-legged tiger lunging towards the dreamwalker.

“I’m losing hold–the dream, it’s going to burst. He’s going to wake.” Sweat poured down his face. “Run, get away.”

“Not without you!” She finally reached him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He had his arms raised with effort, but they were beginning to drop. Moving behind him, she helped hold one up. As if she could support his magic with her physical presence.

“Please, keep our boys as safe as you can,” He gritted through his teeth, but she shook her head vehemently.

“I’m not leaving without you. You know I won’t.”

“You have to,” Trace groaned.

“No!”

She never disobeyed her husband so blatantly, but this instruction was one she would absolutely refuse to consider. She’d been without him for too long, and she was determined never to be without him again.

“Please–”

“No!” She cried again, but the syllable ended on a note of pain as something sharp struck right between her shoulder blades.

Flinching with the shock of the unexpected blow, she involuntarily curled in on herself, slipping to her knees and letting loose her hold on Trace.

“Gah!”

Anaisa convulsed, terror streaking through her as she wondered what manner of poisoned creature had struck her, but she saw nothing near enough to wound her… except the wight.

It stared at her with large, white pupils set into black, eerie eyes.

Her body seized again, and she fell all the way to her face on the Emperor’s enormous bed.

“Anaisa!” Trace’s voice seemed garbled and indistinct in her mind as she struggled against the involuntary muscle spasms working their way through her body.

What had the wight done? And why?

Just as she thought she might black out, a glinting caught her eye.

In front of her, lying on the bedspread in a haphazard display, similar to broken glass, were a dozen or more gleaming opal shards.