The dreams haunted Sophie. Her vision was blurry as she thrashed around, feeling bonds cuffed tightly around her wrists and ankles.
Blurs of dark cloaks swirled around her, and the sign of the Neverseen was bore on the figure's sleeve.
Brant.
His hot hands grabbed her wrists, and a searing throb of pain and a smell of burning flesh – Sophie's flesh – made Sophie's chest heave and her eyes water.
Her eyesight finally focused after what seemed like an eternity, and when she directed her brown eyes to the back of Brant, smoke was billowing and flickers of flames were burning everything she could see and everything she loved.
Everblaze.
The neon yellow flames was ready to devour her fully as Brant pulled her closer to the waiting Everblaze, his wicked laughs fading after another. Her eyes widened with fear as the wildfire illuminated her face and revealing how scared she really was.
The flames were hungry for her, for anything.
She tried to squirm away and escape, but the bonds held her back, cutting into her skin, making her cry out and wince in pain. Blood started to trickle from her new wounds as she bit her lip.
"So this is the end to you, Sophie Foster," the raspy voice cackled. "The Black Swan was foolish. Nobody would ever miss you. Unless you surrender to the Neverseen, you will die."
He threw her into the flames and a piercing scream escaped from Sophie's lips as her body flew towards the flaring heat.
"No!"
Sophie woke up with a start on her canopy bed, sweaty and gasping for breath. Memories flooded back instantly as she sat up on her blanket. Where were her friends? Weren't they joining the Black Swan? The night was pitch- black.
She looked around frantically, but there was no sign of Everblaze or Brant. Moving her arms and legs one by one, she was glad to feel them free of restrains.
It had been a dream.
Sophie sighed in relief, then paused. Wait. Did she scream?
Heavy footsteps pounded on the outside of her bedroom door. "Sophie!" said a worried Edaline. "You must've fallen asleep for a few minutes. I heard you scream. What is it?"
She couldn't tell Edaline about Brant.
He was the only person other than Grady and Edaline that really cared about Jolie. Well, before he turned evil, of course.
She would be too shocked, angry and upset.
Betrayed.
"Nothing," said Sophie innocently, waving the question away. "Just a bad nightmare."
"The kidnappers?" asked Edaline.
"Mum... I don't really want to talk about it. Where are my friends? I thought...we...the Black Swan..."
Sophie had finally started to call Grady and Edaline Mum and Dad.
Edaline swept a strand of Sophie's hair over her forehead. Her fingers lingered on the spot where the ability restrictor had been. "You dozed off downstairs, so we decided to give you all a short break before going to the Black Swan."
Her voice hitched on the last sentence.
Sophie could tell that Edaline didn't want Sophie to go. Not really. But she'd knew it was for her own good, and anyway, once the Council knew that Sophie's circlet was removed by Dex and thrown into the Everblaze, they would be after her and Dex in an instant.
"I want to go now," she said quietly. She embraced Edaline tightly, took her hand, and went down the stairs to the first floor of Havenfield.