Chapter 222 — Looking for Me?

Chapter 222: Chapter 222 — Looking for Me?

~ Raven ~

For several seconds, nobody said anything.

Raven stared at Deb, trying to understand what had just happened to the girl who’d been laughing and arguing with Cassian barely a minute ago.

There was something terribly wrong with her smile, and the longer Raven looked at her, the more uncomfortable she became.

"Deb?" Cassian finally spoke, his brows drawing together as he studied her. "What are you talking about?"

The girl looked at him as though he’d asked the most ridiculous question imaginable.

"Oh, it’s me. Duh." Her smile widened as she gestured toward herself. "The Dreamwalker. I’ve been the Dreamwalker all along."

Isolde blinked before letting out a nervous laugh, glancing between her sister and the others.

"Deb, what the hell are you saying?"

"Didn’t I make myself clear?"

"Stop it," Isolde warned, her amusement disappearing. "This isn’t funny."

Raven barely heard her.

She was watching Deb’s face, studying the unfamiliar amusement in her eyes, when several things suddenly began falling into place.

Oh, fuck.

Raven slowly turned toward Cassian, and the expression on his face told her that he’d reached the same conclusion.

"We’re fucked."

"Yeah," Cassian answered grimly, although his attention remained fixed on Deb.

Isolde looked between them, her confusion turning into frustration as neither offered any further explanation.

"What? Would somebody please explain what the fuck is happening?"

Raven swallowed before looking back at the smiling girl.

"The Dreamwalker," she began, struggling to keep her voice steady. "Remember how we thought he needed people to be asleep before he could get inside their heads?"

Isolde frowned. "Yes, but what does that have to do with—"

"We were wrong."

Raven watched the confusion on Isolde’s face slowly give way to something considerably worse.

"He can enter people’s minds while they’re awake, Isolde. He doesn’t need them to be sleeping, and right now, that bastard is inside Deb’s head."

Isolde went completely still.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head as she looked toward her sister. "No, Raven, you’re not telling me that he’s inside—"

"Bingo!"

Deb clapped her hands together, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.

"Goddess, I knew you were clever, Rivers, but I’m beginning to think I’ve underestimated you."

Raven felt her stomach turn.

It was still Deb’s voice, but the words and that horrible amusement were painfully familiar. Hearing them coming from an innocent girl’s mouth made the entire situation seem even more disturbing.

"Although," the Dreamwalker continued, turning his attention toward Cassian, "I must admit, I expected considerably more from you, Blade."

Cassian said nothing, but Raven noticed the way his shoulders stiffened.

"Those little sigils beneath the beds, for example." Deb laughed as though she’d just remembered something particularly entertaining. "Goddess, you should’ve seen yourself that night, kneeling on the floor and drawing away like some terribly concerned mother protecting her little chicks."

Raven’s eyes widened.

What?

"You really thought those would keep me out?" he continued, smiling at Cassian’s expression. "I watched you draw the damn things."

Cassian went deathly still, and for one terrible moment, Raven wondered whether he’d even understood what the Dreamwalker had said.

Then the air around him changed.

A powerful pressure began spreading through the visiting room, making Raven’s breathing catch as Cassian’s Dominant aura rose.

"Get out," he demanded, his voice dangerously quiet.

Deb tilted her head, pretending not to understand.

"Hmm?"

Cassian’s jaw tightened as he took a step forward. "Get out of her head. Now."

The Dreamwalker laughed, apparently finding the command hilarious.

"Or what?"

He walked straight toward Cassian, stopping so close that Deb had to tilt her head back to look into his face.

"Are you going to kill me?"

Cassian didn’t answer, but the Dreamwalker merely spread Deb’s arms as though inviting him to try.

"Go on, Blade. You’re certainly strong enough, aren’t you? What’s stopping you?"

Raven watched Cassian’s hands curl into fists as the pressure filling the room grew stronger.

Then, with an effort that showed in every rigid line of his body, he forced his aura back down.

Deb smiled.

"Good boy."

"Don’t."

The word came from Isolde, and when Raven turned toward her, something twisted painfully inside her chest.

Isolde had gone pale. Her eyes were fixed on her sister, and both her hands were trembling as she took a cautious step forward.

"Please," she said, her voice barely steady. "Whatever you want, leave Deb out of it."

The Dreamwalker turned toward her with interest.

"Oh?"

"Get out of her head."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because she hasn’t done anything to you!" Isolde’s voice rose before she seemed to catch herself. "She doesn’t even know who you are!"

"That’s rather the point, luv."

Isolde swallowed, her expression growing increasingly desperate as she looked at her sister.

For several seconds, she seemed to struggle with something before finally drawing a shaky breath.

"Come into mine instead."

Raven turned toward her in alarm. "Isolde, what the hell are you—"

"Shut up, Raven," she snapped without looking away from Deb.

"You wanted me before, didn’t you?" Isolde continued, her voice trembling despite her efforts to control it. "You spent days inside my head trying to break me, so fine. You can have me. Do whatever the hell you want, but leave my little sister alone."

The Dreamwalker studied her for a moment before Deb’s expression softened into something almost touched.

"Oh, Isolde," he murmured, pressing a hand against her chest. "You’d really do that for me?"

Isolde’s lips trembled as she struggled to hold herself together.

"Please."

For one ridiculous moment, Raven almost thought he might agree.

Then he smiled.

"No, thanks."

Isolde stared at him, looking as though she hadn’t understood the answer.

"What?"

"I rather like this head." Deb tapped her temple thoughtfully, apparently enjoying the horror spreading across her sister’s face. "There’s so much going on inside here. So many lovely little things."

"Don’t you fucking dare—"

"Oh, she loves you, of course," he interrupted with a cheerful smile. "Very much, actually. It’s almost adorable how much she worries about her big sister."

Isolde’s eyes filled with tears, but the Dreamwalker had already turned toward Cassian.

"And you."

Cassian didn’t move.

"Did you know she thinks of you as the older brother she never had?"

Something changed in Cassian’s expression, and Raven noticed it immediately.

His eyes widened slightly, his mouth tightened, and for the first time since the Dreamwalker had revealed himself, Raven saw his hands begin to tremble.

"She absolutely adores you," the bastard continued, sounding delighted by what he’d discovered. "All those lovely memories and all that affection. Honestly, Blade, you’d be surprised how much space you occupy in this little head."

"Enough."

Cassian’s voice was so quiet that Raven almost missed it.

The Dreamwalker seemed delighted by the reaction, but before he could say anything else, Cassian finally asked the question Raven suspected they’d all been dreading.

"What do you want?"

Deb’s smile widened as she pretended to consider the matter.

"Hmm. Let me think."

He looked between the three of them, taking his time as though he were deciding what to have for dinner.

Then his gaze settled on Raven.

"Her."

Raven felt her stomach tighten.

The Dreamwalker leaned back slightly, looking thoroughly pleased with himself as he finally announced his demand.

"I want Raven Rivers dead."