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Soren didn’t wait until his death slumber was upon him; he was ready to see what the Medici knew. He liked to perform his dream-walking when he was able to control every moment of it. He knew Shade was also a dream-walker, but he rarely used his gift. Still, unlike most of his victims who didn’t possess this gift, Shade would know that Soren was in his head. Soren used his gift regularly and was anxious to see if the Medici could handle his skills. It would give him a view into how future dream-walking sessions with Shade would go.

He wandered through his private wing back to his bedroom. The room was large and held massive, dark gothic furnishings. He hated light and bright colors. The heavy and ornate wood furnishings were almost black. The heavy velvet drapes and all of the upholstered pieces were a deep burgundy red, so dark, that the red was only visible in the light of day, which was something Soren never saw.

He lay down on his bed, flat on his back, and simply closed his eyes. They had obtained a detailed floor plan of the house at Bel Rosso, thanks to Tomas. Soren had studied the floor plans intently. He’d refined his dream-walking skills such that he no longer needed to teleport. If he knew the whereabouts of the victim and could envision their space and was able to mentally place himself there and enter their dreams. He’d refined his gift after centuries of study and practice.

Soren took a few deep relaxing breaths and cleared his mind of all other thoughts. Bringing up the images of the Bel Rosso vineyards in his brain, he traveled in his mind’s eye over the beautifully landscaped estate located in White Hall. He could see the house that held the warrior he sought, and easily entered, placing himself inside the darkened bedroom. Shade Medici lay deep in his death slumber, his mind an open book, as his mate slept close at his side. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he admired her red hair, and pale skin, and thought to himself, maybe another time. Soren stayed calm and relaxed, as he focused on what he needed to do as he silently slipped inside the Medici’s head.

Lying in his bed in Rome, a smile crept across his face, as the visions of the Medici fucking his queen played out before him. As entertaining as it was, this wasn’t why Soren was here. It was too soon to alter his dream and reveal his presence. He needed to see what the Medici knew. Soren sorted through Shade’s memories, looking for anything of value, anything that could give them an advantage in war. He saw that Shade dream-walked most often with his female, whom he adored. Soren looked for signs of other females, to see if he kept mistresses on the side, but he was faithful to his queen. What a pity, he thought, to miss out on such fun. Soren found himself licking his lips at the sight of his queen. She was beautiful and Soren was fascinated by her dove white skin and the contrast of her bright red hair. He could envision cutting into her flesh, and how brilliant the blood would look against that alabaster flesh. He needed to stop this train of thought, and finish what he’d come here for, which was to find out what the warrior knew about the Borgia. He pushed past the most recent memories, diving deeper into the psyche of Medici. He stumbled on Shade’s thoughts about the Alizzi, and his longtime relationship with her. He saw their early friendship, and Shade’s resistance to mate, and his refusal to honor the mating contract arranged by their two fathers. Yet he stayed close to her, had even slept with her through the years, and fed from her. He’d protected her borders until the betrayal. His affection turned to anger, and he’d never forgiven her for what she’d done to Lorenzo, and yet he still felt bound by a sense of honor, and strong feelings of guilt about not following his father’s request to mate her, to provide a stronger line of defense for the Medici. He saw the anger mixed with pity that Shade felt for the Alizzi now. He thinks she’s weak to let Rodrigo in her life. He’s aware of the restorations taking place in her house, but he doesn’t know what his brother is up to. The Medici was confused, and at a loss as to what to do.

Soren looked further and found that the Medici knew about Vanni and Tomas. He saw a woman in an ivory robe and recognized the Council garb. This would be the Medici’s daughter. Soren had never seen her before, but everyone knew the Medici’s daughter was the first female ever born to Council. He saw the female in the ivory robe confiding with Malachi, receiving the news that the Borgia army was larger, and how the Medici was even more conflicted now. Shade’s mind was a web of questions with no answers. There were so many doubts, and Soren found this amusing, the great fucking Medici in a whirl of confusion. Soren was ready to push the boundaries and find out if the Medici's gift were any match for his.

Soren took a deep breath and let it out slowly and made himself visible inside the Medici’s mind. He laughed with that wicked crooked smile and then he began to give the Medici a few visions of his own. He felt the fight slowly build in his victim, the anger, and the frustration, as Shade tried to shake Soren from his dream, but his gift was too weak. He’d left it dormant for much too long and Soren was going to make sure he knew it. He marched thousands of Borgia warriors through his dream, led by Vanni and Tomas, their Borgia battle cries screaming inside his head. He splattered the blood of the Medici far and wide, while Borgia warriors sliced their throats, and beheaded them with ease until there was nothing left. He played this dream, tuning the intensity of the vision and the clarity of the sound until it was overwhelming. He could feel the Medici struggling in his death slumber, trying to lead his warriors to fight and the Borgia kept coming, no matter how many they slew, over and over again, without end. The sound was deafeningly loud inside the Medici's head, when Soren left him with a vision for battle’s end. He left the great warrior alone on the field of battle, knee-deep in Medici blood, staring at Castello, burned to the ground, and the Borgia flag planted where the castle once stood. The bodies of his slain Medici warriors floated atop a river of blood. Soren appeared in front of the Medici and spoke, dropping the body of his slain queen at his feet. "We took you bastards once. We will take all you have this time."

Soren let the screams of the battle repeat again, the high-pitched wails pounding inside the Medici's head. He walked out of the dream and opened his eyes, back in his bedroom in Rome. Shade Medici hadn’t used his gift for evil for too long. He’d spent years, wasting his gift to keep dream-walking inside the dreams of his queen. He was weak and couldn’t take the power of Soren's dream-walking. He lay in bed and howled with laughter. It was just as he knew it would be. No contest.

***

Shade felt his heart pounding as a vision of Soren Borgia raged through his mind. He could see Soren and yet, he couldn’t break the hold he had on his psyche. The blood-shed abounded, and as fast as Shade took down an enemy, five more would appear. He couldn’t escape from the pounding noise inside his head of clashing swords and the screams of the dying. It became louder and louder. The screams of his warriors and the battle cries of the Borgia tore at him. He felt his body break into a cold sweat as he saw the complete devastation of his skilled warriors, seemingly helpless against the Borgia. Soren couldn’t be stopped. He saw Soren approach him, carrying the limp, lifeless body of his bel, and his knees buckled. He fought to remind himself this was a dream, and Kate was safe, but Soren was pulling all the strings. As the dream started to fade, he looked at the empire and legacy he’d worked so hard to build, and it was completely gone. He stood alone in the field of death, his bel was gone, his children gone, and he didn’t have the strength or the will to begin again, to rebuild his coven from nothing. Without her, he was nothing. He was sinking into despair, when the sounds began again, louder this time, as the dream sequence started to recycle. He sat up in the bed, holding both sides of his head, his body covered in sweat, screaming for the dream to stop. The wailing cries of his fallen warriors, his children and grandchildren slaughtered, and the never-ending flow of blood that rose around his knees. But the horror he couldn’t bear to look at was Kate’s lifeless body at his feet. His body was shaking beyond his control.

***

In a deep sleep, Kate began to feel the turmoil that boiled over inside his head when he sat up suddenly, his body shaking and covered in sweat, as he cried out. She sat up quickly, reaching out to him. "Shade! It’s a dream! Look at me. Wake up! Now! We’re safe. We’re fine." Her mind quickly scanned for any fear from her children, and she felt nothing, and knew they were all safe.

Shade heard her voice through the chaos in his mind. He quickly jumped from the bed and spun around to look for Soren, even though he knew it had been a dream and Soren was long gone. Shaking his head to clear the images, he fell to his knees, grabbing his head to block the stabbing pain coursing through his brain. It was a pain like nothing he’d ever felt before. "Make it stop, make it stop!" He fell forward, face down on the floor. "It was Soren in my head, dream-walking."

She ran to his side of the bed, dropping to her knees beside him as the door opened and Luca appeared. Kate looked up at him with confusion. "Tell me what to do!"

Luca knelt next to them as he reassured Kate. “A dream-walker. When they wreak havoc in your dreams, they can also leave their victims in pain."

Kate massaged his temples and the back of his neck. “Relax, lover."

Theresa appeared in the doorway, holding a jar. "Valerian root." She opened the jar and picked out a single dried root and handed it to Kate. "Make him eat it, now. It will ease the pain and calm the anxiety the dream produced."

Kate took the root in her hand and held it to his lips, closed tight against the pain. "Eat this, Shade. Now."

Shade growled through the pain, but took the root, and chewed on it, swallowing the pulp. "Fuck, what the hell is that? Pain, fucking pain. Why can’t I fight this?"

He could barely move, but as the valerian root was absorbed into his system, he began to feel some relief, but he was exhausted. He leaned against Kate, his body covered in sweat, his curls plastered to his face. "Luca, they’re coming for us. Borgia is coming for us all."

Luca laid his hand on his master's back. "Then we will fight them, and we will win. Soren has shown his hand. He did you a favor. Our warriors will be ready."

"Help me back into bed, Luca."

Luca easily helped him get back in bed. Shade lay with his arm over his eyes, his head still pounding. "Call Lorenzo and Alfie, tell them what has happened. Have them escalate the patrols. Tell Henry. I don’t know where they might strike. Tell Christoph… and Raven. "

He grabbed for Kate and she was there beside him in an instant. "I feel exhausted. I can’t hold on much longer. The dream weakened me, and I will be pulled back into my slumber. I need our children protected. Soren is powerful, his gift much stronger than mine. I won’t let them win. I won’t let them take my family from me again."

The death slumber pulled at him, trying to take him down, but he fought against it. He didn’t want Soren to return. "Let me hold you."

Kate slid into his embrace as everything went dark for him, the pull of the death slumber winning out. The dream didn’t return. Soren had left, at least for now, and all he felt was Kate’s warmth, curled up beside him, her lightness and love healing him, as he fell into a deeper slumber.