My eyes narrowed. “Are you serious right now?”

“We will end this,” Noah said, shaking his head as if it were all just so simple. “I love you. You mean everything to me. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you.”

“Except stay,” I growled.

Noah flashed a quick look over his shoulder at the Seraphim. “Try to understand.”

“I’m done. This is just, like, not okay.” I crossed my arms as my stomach swirled as if I’d swallowed a hurricane.

“I’ve worked my entire life for this moment,” Noah said, his chest rising and falling with each rapid breath.

“It is time,” the Seraphim announced as she gradually floated higher.

Noah gave her a single nod before taking my hand. “I love you, Remy. Please, never forget that.”

Noah floated upward, looking down at me with sad eyes. The Seraphim stared at me as she rose higher and higher out of the circle of shrubs. All the light beings shrank into small glowing orbs, twinkling like stars until they faded into nothing, leaving me stranded with Nightmare.

I couldn’t speak. There wasn’t anything to say. Noah had abandoned me and yet claimed to love me.

I never asked him to choose, but he did. Noah made a choice, and there wasn’t anything he could say that could ever fix that.

Sure, I was sad, but more than that, I was furious. He had been the one thing in my life besides my Aunt Joyce that I actually believed I could count on.

He wasn’t any different from any other guy that had come into my life. They were all the same.

The rage and, honestly, the embarrassment boiling in me was out of control. I didn’t know what to do with myself. It felt as though I didn’t belong in my own skin. The only thing I wanted was to get away, far away, and from everything.

I pulled in a slow, shaky breath and turned to Nightmare. Firmly placing both hands on my hips, I exhaled. “What can I do to help?”

Chapter

Five

Nightmare smirked as if he’d played a brilliant move in a game of chess and checkmated his opponent. It wasn’t long before his grin vanished, and he’d remember why he’d come to me.

“There is a lot we need to talk about,” Nightmare said, raising a brow. “You’re sure you’re up for this?” He placed a finger over my lips. “Before you answer, however, just remember what my brother has done for you.”

“Well—”

Nightmare rolled his eyes. “You don’t even know half of it. Just know that it’s possible that you, or rather the medallion, might be the only thing that can save him.”

“Where is he?” I asked.

Nightmare shook his head. “I don’t know exactly.” He looked around and shook his head. “We should leave here, and then I can tell you what I know.”

“Okay, but how do we leave?” I asked, my nose wrinkling.

Nightmare opened his arms. “Come here.”

“Sorry?” I asked, squinting.

“Just come here,” he said, sighing.

I stepped closer, and he wrapped his arms around me. His body was hard and provided absolutely no warmth.

“Close your eyes,” Nightmare whispered.

I did as he said, and it felt as though my body was spinning as if trapped on a carnival ride. He squeezed me tighter.

“Keep them closed. It’ll be worse if you open them,” he said softly as the wind ripped around us.

“I’m going to be sick,” I said, pressing my face hard against his chest.

“Wait until we’re there,” he said, tightening his arms. His voice was surprisingly calm and soothing. Even though I didn’t know Nightmare well, I didn’t think kindness or sympathy was something he was capable of showing, if that was what he was doing. “It’s a new shirt.”

Suddenly, I stopped moving.

Nightmare released me and took several steps back. I placed my fingertips over my lips and waited for my stomach to stop spinning.

I carefully took in each breath, afraid if I took in too much air, I’d vomit all over the… rocks. My eyes moved over the gray, dreary surroundings.

There was a fine mist blowing at my face, which drastically helped ease the sick feeling away. The sky was covered with a blanket of thick, gray clouds. In the distance, I could hear endless rolling thunder.

“Where am I?” I asked, seeing nothing but rocky ground and mountain peaks in the distance. Bolts of lightning crashed down, aggressively hitting the mountaintops.

“The Between,” Nightmare said, holding out his arms. “Welcome to my home.”

There weren’t any homes or buildings of any kind around us. “You live here?”

“Well, not here exactly, but this is the plane I’m from.”

“Darkness too?” I asked, meeting his eyes.

“Yes,” Nightmare said, gesturing toward a rock. I spotted a pair of glowing eyes watching us. “And we’re being watched.”

I wrapped my arms around my body. “His imps.”

“Yes, they’re very worried,” Nightmare replied, pressing his lips together. It was the first time I could see that he was also quite worried about his brother. “Come.”

I followed Nightmare across the rocky terrain. There were lots of hiding eyes peeking out at us as we walked down a worn path.

It seemed the further we walked, the more attention was called to us. It wasn’t just the imps gathering around, but other living beings too.

There were thin, agile beasts that were mostly human but had a cat-like tail. Their skin was coated with a fine, pitch-black, short fur coat, and haunting green eyes.

Rocks rolled together to form a thick golem creature that gawked at me with black, empty eyes. A nude ice-man stepped out from behind a large rock, setting his turquoise glare on me. I pretended not to watch as a hairy beast with a humpback sprouted up from the ground like a rapidly growing tree.

It felt like there were far too many things watching my every move. They all wanted to make sure I knew I didn’t belong there. That I was different. I wanted to announce to them all that I wasn’t there by choice, that Nightmare had brought me, and I’d be leaving as soon as I possibly could.