Chapter Forty-One

Dillan

No Longer the One

The next time Dillan opened his eyes, he sat in that dark room again.

“Oh, shit,” he said and it echoed. When had he fallen asleep?

He struggled to get out of the chair, but like the last time, an invisible force kept him pinned down. The last thing he needed was to stab himself just to wake up. He was too far from Rainer for healing. Gritting his teeth, he pulled up as hard as he could. The band of panic squeezing his lungs didn’t help. He tried again. A slight budge happened on his third attempt, but the force still pulled him back down. The chair didn’t even wobble.

You’ll only hurt yourself more if you keep struggling.

He flicked his gaze to every corner of the darkness, searching for the source of the singsong voice. He didn’t care that he breathed hard and sweat soaked his shirt from the effort to get away. Now wasn’t the time to be stuck in a dream. So he braced himself again for another pull up. A pulse in his temple ticked and the muscles on his neck strained. He felt the same budge, but when he slumped back, it was harder this time. Apparently, the more force he put into gaining freedom the more whatever was holding him down rebelled.

Oh, Dillan. She stepped out of the darkness directly in front of him. Always so stubborn. I like that about you.

“What do you want from me, Katarina? Cut through the bullshit and get on with it.”

She clucked her tongue at him, playing coy. He growled, blessed annoyance replacing his panic. Her hair rippled like she was underwater when she shook her head. Then she smiled that sinister smile of hers. He had only ever seen it in this dream state. She looked like Katarina, but was it really her?

Oh, I’m the real thing, Dillan.

“Get out of my head!”

Her blue lips formed a perfect O. Oh, but we are in your head. So you see my little dilemma. How can I leave when all you do is think about me?

Calling on his training, he exhaled all the tension in his body and closed his eyes. “That’s not true,” he said softly. “Not anymore.” The truth in his words lent him strength. He’d make it out of this in one piece.

Then why are we still here?

He honestly didn’t know. A voice he didn’t expect pinged behind his closed eyelids.

Sloan, Sebastian said. I can cut the bonds holding you back. But that is the most I can do. The rest is up to you.

Katarina said this was all in his head. Did he really want her to disappear? She haunted him because he’d failed her. Maybe if he accepted it she would set him free. Fresh out of options, he thought it was worth a try. Sucking up his pride, he prepared himself for what he needed to do. The one face he’d been picturing more times than he really should appeared in his mind’s eye. Her springy curls he wanted to run his fingers through. Those unique aquamarine eyes he could stare into all day. They reflected her heart and soul. And her blushes that stopped his heart every time. If there was someone who needed his help now, it wasn’t Katarina.

“Okay, do it,” he said to Sebastian.

Do what? Katarina asked.

He relaxed his muscles then pulled up. No resistance. With a smirk, he sprang out of the chair. Katarina’s eyes widened as she stumbled backwards. She screamed when he reached her. Not allowing her to resist, he pulled her against him and wrapped his arms around her cold body. She stiffened. Seconds later, like she always did, she relaxed. Her sigh touched his collarbone.

The rightness of his actions surprised him. He bent down and whispered into her ear, “I’m sorry, Katarina. I should have done everything I could. I was weak and I let you down.”

He felt her fingers hook onto his shoulders from behind, like she hung off a cliff. Dillan.

“You have the right to kill me,” he continued. “It was my fault you were taken. But you have to understand…I can’t let you. Not when someone else’s life is in danger. I have to help her, Katarina. I have to save her.”

The way you wouldn’t save me, she said in a sob.

The reality of her words threated to buckle his knees. “I know. Please forgive me. I was a coward. The one thing I had to do and I couldn’t. I’m sorry.”

She started to dissolve in his arms, but he held on, crushing her to his chest. This is not over.

He jerked awake. Those were the same words she’d said the night he’d stabbed himself. It took him a second to figure out he was still sitting in the GT. Quickly, he checked himself for stab wounds. When he wasn’t bleeding from anywhere, he breathed in relief. He ran shaking hands through ruffled hair and stared up at the ceiling. The sun had gone down while he napped. Not good.

Realizing his mistake, he got out of the car and headed for the bookstore. He wasn’t sure when Selena’s shift ended. He just hoped she was still there. But about halfway across the road, Sebastian’s voice rang inside his head.

Dillan!

“Whoa!” He froze in the middle of the street. A headache came to life, forcing him to rub at his pounding temples. “Take it easy. My head’s about to explode.”

A car honked and screeched to a halt. He jumped back then slapped the hood. Thank God for Illumenari reflexes. He gave the man driving the finger before backtracking to the GT.

Dillan, drive to Valley View, now!

“What’s with the panic?” He got into the car and started the engine.

Ormand is the Maestro. He took the girl named Penny hostage.

His heart bounced around in his chest. “Selena?”

I got her out in time.

Enough said. He shifted the GT into gear and drove like the devil out of downtown.