Chapter 66

Luna

I'm stuck in the world between the worlds. I run. I run through bloody marshes teeming with monsters who chase me in endless loops. I race through crimson swamps lined with alligators waiting to consume me if I dare approach the shore. There are infinite dangers, unending treachery waiting for me, and there's no escape, ever.

A trickle of warm water drips onto my skin, and I try to scream and look up, sure that I'll see blood pouring from the Spanish moss hanging above. But a feeble squeak is all that comes from my lips.

"Luna." A gentle, urgent, familiar voice calls, and I feel myself being shaken. At long last, my lids flutter open, ending my nightmare.

I blink rapidly, trying to orient myself. I'm in a room, my room. Gentle hands bathe me with a warm cloth. A bearded man sits over me, but when my eyes open, he drops the cloth into a bowl of water and just stares.

"Callan," I say, my voice hoarse from disuse. "Is that really you?"