Phoenix had trouble falling asleep that morning as she lay in the bed across from Camilla’s, who had chosen to keep her normal sleeping schedule and went to explore the city while most of its inhabitants slept.

  While part of her didn’t like the idea of Camilla going out alone, she realized that Camilla was a full grown woman who was about a decade older than her and could take care of herself. Camilla was also, in her own words, ‘less important than the rest of the people in their group’ and was unlikely to warrant a kidnapping. Phoenix was still relieved when Ren offered to go with her, claiming to want to explore more of the city theirself.

  She really had hoped the group would opt for her idea of remaining together while they slept, but perhaps she was just being paranoid about losing her companions again. She knew that Uriel and Dazien needed time alone to figure things out between them, and she was hopeful that they would, but she wanted to be there with them, too.

  As she forced herself to close her eyes and try to drift to sleep, trying to clear her mind of the dozens of questions she wanted to ask everyone else, she eventually found herself standing on a dock overlooking the sea.

  The sun was setting instead of rising but she could feel its last bit of warmth. The waves moved lazily and the slight breeze coming off it tickled her bared skin. The only sounds came from the rolling waters and wind along with the faint call of distant sea birds.

  Phoenix was still dressed in her nightgown, the white satin falling just to her thighs and the thin straps the only thing on her shoulders. While it was more comfortable for her when sleeping in bed, she felt way too exposed out here by the ocean.

  “This is my favorite spot on the island for watching the sunset,” a voice said, and she glanced down beside her to see Emrys sitting on the end of the dock with his legs dangling off the edge.

  He was dressed more than she normally saw him, with a simple white silk shirt and black leather pants that kinda reminded her of the ones Dazien had worn when she accidentally interrupted his lovey time with Uriel. However, the silver and emerald torc around his neck reminded her of Paul, and she idly wondered if Emrys was seeking a wife, too.

  “The way it sparkles off the water makes it feel like magic even though I know it’s not,” he added, then glanced up at her, “Do you want to sit with me?”

  “How did I get here? she asked, hesitating as she looked around at the eerily abandoned pier. They were the only ones here, and she didn’t remember how she even arrived.

  Emrys chuckled and answered her question with his own, “How do you think?”

  After trying to puzzle through it, she finally sighed and sat down beside him as she said, “I’m dreaming again, aren’t I?”

  His grin looked wicked as he asked, “Should I be flattered that you would dream of me?”

  “We’ve met like a total of three times and my dreams often get weird so it’s not really a compliment. No promises you won’t die horribly in a few minutes.”

  Emrys laughed. “We’re sitting here watching the sun set. What could possibly kill either of us here?”

  “Shark monster,” she replied immediately, then started ticking her fingers as she listed, “Lightning bolt or divine smiting. Maybe you’re already sick with something. Flaming meteor from the sky—”

  “Are you planning to meteor me if I say the wrong thing?” he interjected with a raised eyebrow.

  “Depends. If this is a dream, it might be an interesting way to get you back for what you said when we first met,” she pointed out.

  He rolled his eyes at her. “I was merely calling you out for your abysmal acting.”

  “You said you were disappointed in me!”

  “I was,” he replied, lifting a leg up onto the dock to turn his whole body and look at her. “The incredible woman I had heard about, who had come from another world, getting Chosen by a handful of deities, uncovering the betrayal of a noble House, bartering with a goddess to save the life of the Blade of Pure Wrath, an infamous man who had found her worthy enough to adopt, and who then proceeded to protect the city he was willing to die for by commanding an Obsidian champion, was sitting in an inn pandering to spoiled children. I was disappointed because I knew you were better than that, and I couldn’t understand why you didn’t simply seek out the people in power here that could actually help you.”

  Phoenix felt her cheeks heat at the unexpected praise, but pulled her hair around to hide her face as she idly began to braid it. “First, I’m not sure my dream-version of you would ever compliment me like that. Second, you make it sound way more impressive than it really was. Third, Dazien was the one who would handle talking to the important people for me… he’s much better at it.”

  He gave her a curious look before slowly saying, “From what I saw when we first met, you are quite capable of expressing yourself. You did not seem so shy and meek to me that you would need your brother to speak for you.”

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  “I just—” she hesitated, unsure why she felt the desire to be honest with him, but if this was a dream then it’s not like she was really telling this stranger. Perhaps her mind just thought she needed to work through some things? “I just don’t want to mess up and disappoint even more people, you know? You were already disappointed, so it’s not like your impression of me could get any worse.”

  She gave a sigh. “I’m not even sure why I’m admitting this to dream-you.”

  Emrys chuckled. “I find that people’s subconscious mind is often more honest than their conscious one. Even when it comes to what they tell themselves.” He moved to stand then and held out a hand for her to take. “Come. I’ll walk with you.”

  Phoenix snorted a laugh at the phrasing. “Once upon a dream?”

  He gave an amused smile. “You make it sound like a waytale.”

  “Waytale?”

  “The fantastical tales the Wayfarers brought to this world. We have many, and quite a few begin similarly to that.”

  She chuckled. “I guess it kinda is, since I’m a Wayfarer that has plenty more to add from my world. That particular one came from a story about a beautiful sleeping princess who fell in love with a prince, but was cursed to sleep by an evil fairy.”

  Emrys’ smile grew wider. “Is that so? Well, hopefully the cursed sleep won’t happen to you.”

  “Despite what the others call me, I’m not actually a princess,” Phoenix replied with a roll of her eyes, and she took his hand to stand and follow him.

  “According to my information networks you may very well become one some day.”

  “Are you some sort of royal spymaster?”

  He softly hummed as though contemplating the idea. “That’s a fairly good guess. What other options do I have to choose from?”

  “Captain of the Royal Guard?”

  He nodded along. “That would make sense of the earlier home invasion we did. What else do you have for me?”

  “The senechal that is secretly the one doing the actual work behind the scenes?”

  “Oh, gods no. Kareen is an arrogant prick that usually ends up causing more problems than she solves with how she tries and fails to micromanage anything. I’ve tried to get her fired so many times already, but she’s a royal cousin that the queen owed a favor to, or some nonsense like that. It’s better to just give her a little notebook and let her go around the city doing random inspections on the shadier businesses we’re trying to drive away.”

  Phoenix snorted a laugh and asked, “The downsides of nepotism?”

  He smirked and agreed, “That is entirely true. I myself am very against that type of favoritism, especially among the nobility.”

  “So definitely not a random royal cousin yourself then?”

  “Not a cousin,” he confirmed with a shake of his head. “Any other potential jobs for me at the palace that could answer your curiosity?”

  “The butler who’s secretly blackmailing everyone in the palace for more power than he probably should have?”

  Emrys burst out laughing at that one, and she couldn’t help but smile in return as she admitted, “That was partially Rayna’s idea, but it’s slowly growing on me.”

  “I’ll have to remember that one as a good cover for any future acquaintances I’d rather avoid or want to terrify. A butler with that kind of power is a frightening thought.”

  Phoenix paused to look at him as they reached about halfway down the dock, then looked around at the empty port area again before asking, “Is this really a dream? I don’t think I could actually imagine you saying all the things you are.”

  The handsome Night Elf smirked in amusement. “Of course it’s a dream. The docks are never this abandoned.”

  “Maybe you did something to keep people away?”

  His grip around her hand tightened as he got a mischievous look. “Well, let’s do something only possible in your dreams then.”

  Her eyes went wide in surprise, and she hesitantly asked, “Um, like what?”

  He then yanked her towards him, wrapping his other arm around her waist, and took a few steps back right off the edge of the dock.

  His grip around her tightened in response to her own panicked clutching at his shirt and the fear of not being able to swim returning.

  They didn’t fall into the sea, however. Instead, they were suddenly falling through space. Sparkling galaxies filled with twinkling stars and cloudy nebulas were spread out around them.

  “What in the world—”

  Emrys’ carefree laughter caught her by surprise as she looked up at him, and he said, “You should see the look on your face right now. It’s adorable.”

  She knew her ears turned red as well that time from the comment. “So, this is definitely a dream that is totally not real.”

  His humor didn’t dissipate in the slightest as he asked, “What makes you think it’s not real just because it’s a dream?”

  “Because if this was real, I’m pretty sure I would have died from embarrassment already,” she muttered, trying to see more of the space they were lazily falling through without actually letting go of Emrys. For all she knew, he was the only reason she wasn’t plummeting to another death because he could fly as some weird Emerald Caste ability.

  Emrys just shook his head in amusement before saying, “I don’t believe you have anything to be embarrassed about. You’re strong, smart, beautiful, and compassionate. What exactly do you think you have to be ashamed of?”

  Her words failed her at the moment as his words simply bounced around her mind. Trying to think of a suitable answer that didn’t come off as completely childish or self-deprecating, he saved her from her momentary speechlessness.

  “I only ask this bluntly, because it also took me a long time to be able to answer that question,” he softly said, giving her a gentle smile and slowly moving a hand to brush some curls out of her face. “I grew up with everyone around me telling me how much I didn’t matter. That my future would amount to nothing no matter how hard I might work to change it. I tried to make myself smaller and tried so hard not to burden others with my useless presence.”

  She tried to look away from that piercing gaze he kept fixed on her, dismayed by how much that sounded like her own thoughts for most of her life.

  His hand moved to bring her face up again as he firmly stated, “It took me a long time to realize they were wrong. To realize that I was wrong about myself. Now, I’m letting you know that, too. Your behavior around others was like looking at a mask of my past self. Don’t let others’ lies and your own insecurities ever let you believe that you’re not the incredible woman that I know is behind that mask.”

  He leaned his face closer to her own and for a split second a spike of panic ran through her that he was going to try kissing her, but he stopped short and merely whispered, “Come to the palace in two nights and find out if this dream is real or not.”

  Then he let go of her and she fell until her eyes opened back in her bed in the inn room.