* * *
I woke with a start,my pulse jumping beneath my skin, my heart banging in my ears. A droplet of sweat rolled down the side of my face, while the room spun around me. I could have sworn I had just experienced the worst nightmare of my life, but somehow, I couldn't remember a single thing that had happened in the dream. Only the darkness lingered in my chest, that ominous feeling that told me danger lay near.
When I pushed myself up in bed, I shuddered at the sight in front of me.
This was my bedroom in the mansion, except it wasn't. Instead of the walls and ceiling, lofty trees crowded together, grand ones with busy branches covered in the greenest leaves. They swayed and the rustling flooded the room, yet I felt no wind.
What the hell was going on? I rubbed my eyes, but the trees remained.
In slow motion, I crept out of bed, almost tripping from the sheets tangled around my legs. Tugging on the blanket, I finally freed myself and stumbled, teetering on my feet and falling against a tree.
I glanced up into the canopy covering the ceiling. Everything seemed so real, but I didn’t understand how it could be. I felt a nearby tree and pulled back immediately in surprise. The bark was rough and bumpy under my hand.
A fogginess clung to my mind as I tried to think straight, work out what exactly was going on. From across the bedroom, a shadow shifted in the far corner, and my heart hit the back of my throat. Sliding across the wall of trees behind me, a scream pushed through my lungs as the darkness flitted across the opposite wall as if mimicking my actions.
Was this some kind of Vepar thing, or had the Khonsu found me? Thane said I'd be safe here, that the mansion was protected. But then where the freak did the trees come from? My head felt like it was swimming in fog.
I reached for the door handle and opened it in slow motion. Barely able to breath, I turned and sprinted out of the bedroom.
The hallway blurred around me, everything fuzzy and jumpy, but I didn't care. Not when dread crept up the back of my legs and there was a monster in the house.
More trees flanked the passage as I ran faster than possible toward the stairs.
A quick glance back, and the shadow emerged, a lofty figure with piercing red eyes.
My earlier scream tore past my throat, and I darted down the steps, moving too fast. Everything felt strange, like I was moving in slow motion and I couldn't run faster. It was going to catch me, just like the Khonsu. And I doubted I'd survive this time.
A thundering sounded around me, getting louder, closer.
Panic gripped me, and my feet tangled over one another. I tripped, the world racing up toward me. Everything was happening too fast, and my sight was blurring in and out.
Something huge raced up toward me from the kitchen. There were more of those creatures?
I cried out louder as I fell, my arms fluttering outward for something to grab onto.
I hit the ground; except I didn't hit the wooden floorboards like I was expecting. I landed in someone's arms, soft and strong at the same time. It had gotten me. I wasn’t going to go down easily, so I started to kick and punch, digging my nails into whatever I could.
"Ella!" Thane's voice found me.
"Help," I shouted, thrashing, my vision still a wash of blurs and shapes.
Someone grasped my hands and legs, carrying me as if I were a sacrifice. Two figures hovered over me. I kept blinking, shaking my head to clear the fuzziness, the tears making it worse.
Finally, I was laid on something soft, the hands releasing me.
I scrambled backward into a corner, rubbing my eyes, and slowly the view in front of me cleared. It seemed to still be blurry, but as I stared up, I could see well enough to realize that Thane and Corran were in front of me, both wearing worried expressions.
"There is something upstairs," I blurted frantically, pointing to the stairs.
Corran stared up, following my pointed finger, while Thane suddenly had a glass of liquid in his hand. He pushed it into my grasp.
"Drink."
I did. It had a sweet fruity flavor that I didn’t recognize. But I was so thirsty that I gulped down the whole glass, drenching the heat consuming me. "Why are there trees upstairs? Is that some weird Vepar technology?"
They exchanged glances before looking down at me once more, Thane's mouth spreading into a grin.
"Pet, there are no trees upstairs, no monsters either. You're safe."