That night, Rose didn't sleep so much as fall sideways into a dream that felt deliberate.
She stood in a twilight field, the air thick with magic. Stars flickered above her like uncertain candles. The ground pulsed beneath her feet.
Then she felt it—her presence.
Belladoma emerged from the dark like a secret summoned in velvet: composed, silent, and stunningly dangerous.
"You shouldn't be here," Rose said, though she wasn't sure who she meant—Belladoma, or herself.
Belladoma stepped closer, her expression unreadable. "You're dreaming. But you're not the only one."
Rose's pulse quickened. "Wait—are you in my dream?"
"No," Belladoma said softly. "You're in mine."
Suddenly, the air sparked. Fire bloomed between them in a slow-burning arc—not threatening, just warm. Real.
Rose's breath hitched. "Why?"
Belladoma hesitated. "Because I'm trying to understand what you are."
Rose took a step forward. "And what have you decided?"
"That you're trouble," Belladoma whispered. "That you challenge rules I've carved into stone."
"I could stop," Rose said, voice low.
"No," Belladoma replied. "Don't."
The fire between them flickered. Belladoma raised a hand, and this time it didn't dissolve like in the mirror maze. Her fingers brushed Rose's cheek, slow and tentative.
Rose closed her eyes.
And then everything shattered.
A roar tore through the dream—deep, guttural, ancient. The sky cracked open like broken glass. A great shadow fell across the field.
Belladoma's eyes snapped to the sky. "It's found you."
Rose reached for her wand—gone.
Belladoma turned, wrapping her arms around Rose with surprising force. "Wake up. Now."
The field exploded in flame—and Rose jolted upright in her bed, gasping.
Nimbus jolted awake with a startled crackle. "What? What happened? Are we cursed again? Is the mop king back?"
Rose shook, sweat cooling on her skin. "No. Just a dream. Just…"
But it hadn't just been a dream.
She could still feel the warmth of Belladoma's touch. The fire. The fear.
Somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbled.
Nimbus narrowed his eyes. "That wasn't an ordinary nightmare, was it?"
"She was there," Rose said. "Belladoma. In my dream. Or… hers. We connected somehow."
Nimbus floated back, uneasy. "Shared dreams aren't casual magic. That's old blood, soul-bonding level stuff."
Rose stared out the window, heart hammering.
Whatever power she was waking up, it was no longer just hers.
And someone—something—was watching.