Chapter 3

There was no fire.

No smoke.

No screaming.

No broken windows.

Instead, I stood beneath a clear blue sky.

I was in a garden.

A huge one.

Tall hedges formed narrow paths around fountains, flower beds, and marble statues. Beyond them stood the same palace from my previous dream.

Except this time, it was untouched.

Beautiful.

Almost impossibly beautiful.

I slowly turned in place. "Okay..."

I looked down at myself.

Nothing had changed.

Same clothes.

Same strange feeling of being somewhere I shouldn't be.

I walked forward.

The sound of laughter drifted through the garden.

I followed it.

Then I saw her.

It was the same girl.

Only...

She wasn't eighteen.

She looked much younger.

Maybe 10.

She was sitting beneath a large tree with a book resting on her knees.

Her dress was simpler than the one she'd worn in my previous dream, but there was still something unmistakably royal about her.

I stopped. "You again."

She didn't react.

Of course.

She couldn't hear me.

I moved closer.

She was reading.

Every few seconds, she glanced toward the palace as though she was expecting someone.

Then she closed the book. "I know you're there."

I froze.

The girl looked around the garden.

For one ridiculous second, I wondered if she was talking to me.

Then a servant stepped out from behind the hedge.

The girl smiled. "You found me."

The servant sighed."Princess, your tutor has been looking everywhere for you."

I stared at her.

Princess?

The servant hurried over and held out a hand."You were supposed to be in the library."

  "I was in the library." The girl said

"You were supposed to remain in the library." The servant said

The girl smiled innocently."Those are different things."

I almost laughed.

She had the kind of expression that made it obvious this wasn't the first time she'd done something like this.

The servant clearly knew it too.

  "Come along, Princess Seraphina." The servant said

Seraphina.

The name stayed in my mind.

Seraphina.

The girl stood and handed the book back to the servant.

Before leaving, she glanced toward the palace again.

Her expression changed.

Just for a moment.

She looked curious.

Almost uneasy.

Then she followed the servant away.

I remained beneath the tree.

I looked at the palace.

Something about it bothered me.

I didn't know what.

Then I noticed a section of the palace that looked different from the rest.

A western wing.

Its windows were dark.

No lights.

No servants.

Nothing.

I walked toward it.

The closer I got, the quieter the garden became.

I reached the entrance.

There was a large wooden door.

Old.

Heavy.

And locked.

I touched the handle.

My hand passed straight through it.

I pulled back.

  "Right."I stared at my hand. "Still a ghost."

A sound came from the other side.

Three soft knocks.

I froze.

Then came another.

Three knocks.

I stepped closer.

There was something strange about the door.

Not because it was locked.

Because I suddenly had the uncomfortable feeling that something behind it knew I was there.

I backed away.

Footsteps approached from behind me.

I turned.

Seraphina was standing at the end of the corridor.

She was alone.

She looked toward the door.

Then toward me.

My heart jumped.

But her eyes passed straight through me.

She couldn't see me.

She walked toward the door.

I stepped aside.

Seraphina placed her hand against the wood.

Her expression became serious.

For a few seconds, she simply stood there.

Then she whispered: "I wonder what's inside."

I looked at the door.

For some reason, I suddenly didn't want her to open it.

But she couldn't hear me.

And I couldn't stop her.

Seraphina slowly reached for the handle.

The moment her fingers touched it—

I woke up.

I sat upright in bed.

Morning light filled the room.

I stared ahead."Seraphina..."

That was her name.

I knew it now.

And somehow, that felt much more unsettling than not knowing it.