Chapter 18 · Shared Nightmares

"Get out of my head!"

Sloane screamed the words, but there was no air in the void. Her voice didn't echo; it just vanished into the grey haze of the mind-scape. Before she could scramble back, a hand clamped around her wrist—cold, bruising, and far too strong.

Kaelen jerked her forward, slamming her back against a wall of jagged, obsidian glass that shouldn't have existed. The impact knocked the wind out of her. He didn't let go. He pinned her there, his chest heaving, his eyes no longer the soft gold of the boy she’d raised. They were burning, molten silver, flickering with a hunger that made her skin crawl.

"Why is it so loud?" Kaelen hissed. His face was inches from hers, his breath smelling like ozone and old blood. "The screaming. Your memories. Why are they screaming at me?"

Sloane struggled, her heels skidding on the glass floor. "It's a mental link, you idiot! You're seeing my subconscious. Now let go before I fry your circuits!"

"You can't," he whispered, his voice dropping an octave, vibrating in her own chest. "You're the one who opened the door. You're the one who let me in.