Eliza turned around. The entrance to the cave was nothing more than a crack in the face of a sheer cliff that rose with no end. There were no clouds to hide its harsh lines and no plants to soften the angles. Her beaded captor leaned against the rock, his arms folded, as impassive as the rock he had made his home.
“What is this place?” Her voice echoed in the empty world.
“The Shadowlands.” His voice didn’t echo. It dropped like a weight and was absorbed into the ground as if he were part of the strange landscape.
The Shadowlands. The name should mean something to her. She shook her head, unable to find the thought.
“This is a dream.” It had to be. She would wake up with a hangover at home with Steve.
“No.” His lips turned into a smile that cut her to the bone. “A nightmare.”
Eliza’s breath slid from her body and threatened to never return. She did know this place. So alien, yet so familiar. Every nightmare she’d ever had was created here, sired by goblins. The screeching and yells that had broken up the party had haunted her sleep, but it was a nightmare she’d thought she’d grown out of, the same way she’d put aside her dreams.
She glanced at the Goblin King. The first time she’d called him, someone had died. Her brother’s friend Ben, the boy she’d been so desperate to escape, had fled the party in fright. He ended up wrapping his car around a tree on the way home. Whether it was the Goblin King directly, booze, or just reckless driving, she couldn’t help feeling that her wish had caused his death.
Without sound or warning, the dust beneath her feet bubbled and swelled and grew. Eliza stumbled backward. Out of the blister burst Ben.
“You killed me,” Ben accused.
Eliza stepped back again. “This isn’t real.” Yet he looked real. The same as he had on the night of the party—leering and drunk. “None of this is real. It’s a nightmare.”
All she had to do was wake up and all of this would be gone…including the Goblin King. She’d forgotten about him once before. Could she do it again?
She glanced at the warrior leaning against the rock. The memory of his touch lingered on her skin, cool and firm.
Ben moved closer as if he was stalking her once again.
Eliza covered her mouth and shook her head. No. No. No. Not possible. This was a nightmare created by the Shadowlands to torment her. To awaken the guilt she’d thought long buried over Ben’s death.
“It was a car accident. It wasn’t my fault.” She’d never believed those words before, even though she’d wanted to. The old guilt hadn’t gone. It had grown stronger with time.
Ben reached out, almost close enough to touch her. His hands ready to paw at her the way he once had.
She forced out a breath and tried to be calm. None of this existed. It was just a nightmare more vivid than any other she’d ever had. But not real. Ben’s chant closed in around her.
“You called. He came. He killed. For you.” Ben pointed at her, his eyes lit with malice.
Had the Goblin King killed for her, to keep her safe? Or had it been for payment? It was a question she’d never gotten the chance to ask. One she wasn’t sure she wanted to have answered.
Eliza pinched her arm, twisting the skin into a bleached white peak. She didn’t wake.
Two other men joined the watching warrior as Ben drew closer, circling, closing in. There was nowhere for her to go…except back into the rock spire and the embrace of the Goblin King.
“Make it stop.” She twisted away, not wanting Ben to touch her.
The goblin-man shrugged. “Maybe I could, if I were real. If I’m not, then I can’t. If I’m a dream, you should have power over me. If I exist, then I have the power to make every day a living nightmare.” He uncrossed his arms with the grace of a warrior readying for battle. “So, Eliza, do I exist?”
Her lips moved without sound. Did she really want to know what had happened that night? Would she be able to look the man who’d saved her in the eye, knowing he’d killed for her?
She glanced at the man who looked nothing like a goblin and stared into his unforgiving blue eyes, daring him to admit the truth.
“Did you kill Ben?” Was it her fault he had died?
“No,” he answered without pausing for thought.
“Swear you didn’t kill him.”
“If you don’t believe I exist, what do I swear by?”
Ben reached for her hand, the same way he had when she was sixteen. She knew what would happen next. The first kiss had been fun, the next not really. The scent of beer on breath still made her stomach turn.
“You win. You exist.” Goblins exist. “Just make it stop.”
Ben disintegrated into nothing more than dust settling on the flat barren landscape.
“I didn’t kill Ben. And I didn’t bring you back to the Shadowlands that night because you didn’t know what you were wishing. But I warned you. You should’ve known better this time.” His words were soft as he picked up a handful of dust. “Listen carefully, Eliza. Everything here is real. And everything here can kill you.” He blew the dust into her face.
Her muscles went lax.
His hands caught her.
“Everything.”
Acknowledgments
I could write a whole list of everyone who touched this book and helped its progress along, but you know who you are. From reading the first draft, to tightening the romance, fixing my commas, giving it a lovely cover, and then marketing it. This book wouldn’t be here without you. Thank you.
About the Author
Shona Husk lives in Western Australia at the edge of the Indian Ocean. Blessed with a lively imagination, she spent most of her childhood making up stories. As an adult she discovered romance novels and hasn’t looked back. Drawing on history and myth, she weaves new worlds and writes heroes who aren’t afraid to get hurt while falling in love.