Shadow Prince

Angelique gripped the wooden arms of her chair. Donald was right. It was the chance of a lifetime. But she couldn't possibly go to Seattle.

Her skin turned cold and clammy, and she tightened her hold on the chair, trying to still the trembling in her fingers. She had to get out before Donald saw her reaction, before it got worse. He didn't understand. No one could, because she didn't dare tell anyone. If the doctors knew she was still having visions, they'd lock her away and never free her.

Donald shook his head. "You're almost thirty. This fear will cripple you for the rest of your life if you don't face it. It's just water, for heaven's sake."

Her fingers ached from clutching the chair as she tried desperately to anchor herself to reality. It didn't work. She'd never learned to control the visions.

The memories she tried so hard to keep locked away burst their restraints and overwhelmed her. Angie recognized the vision instantly, as it was always the same. Then she was lost in the memory.

Waterlogged woolen skirts dragged at her legs, threatening to pull her from her precarious perch across Reynart's lap as his horse stumbled on the slippery trail. Reynart's arm tightened around her waist. He shifted his weight, giving an unspoken command to the horse, and it stopped instantly. The beast lowered its head and stood fetlock-deep in the oozing mud, shifting from hoof to hoof, its lathered sides heaving. A curtain of silver rain trapped them in a miniature world defined by the length and breadth of their steed. Rushing water drowned out all sounds except the slurping suction of mud grudgingly releasing hooves, and the horse's labored breathing.

Angelique shivered, partly from cold, but mostly from fear. Reynart pulled his heavy woolen cloak around her shoulders, enclosing her in a warm, wet haven, and tucked her closer against his leather and velvet clad chest. Her cheek rested against his steadily beating heart. Unlike her, he was never afraid.

They needed to reach the last gateway before the rains washed it away. The first three were already gone. Their horse could barely stumble uphill and desperately needed a rest, but if they missed this gateway, they were dead. Yet, Reynart was a true prince, facing the challenge without fear.

Terror ate at her soul as they struggled onward in the rain, her legs turning numb from the cold as her mind turned numb from the constant fear. She was going to die, cold, wet, and on another world.

Reynart nudged her out of her stupor and pointed into the mist ahead. "There's the gateway."

He urged the horse between the pillars of the flickering but still functional gateway. A rush of inner warmth flooded through her as a disorienting blur of color and sound surrounded her. The wash of sensation isolated her from Reynart, casting her adrift from her anchor to the fantasy world.

Angelique knew from experience that if she didn't break out of her memories at this point, she'd be forced to relive the three days that had followed their escape. Exerting all her willpower, she struggled free, back to reality, and drank in the comforting sight of Dino's cafe.