Dante's POV
Vale's eyes snapped open and she screamed.
But she wasn't seeing us. She was seeing something else, something in her mind that made her thrash on the makeshift bed we'd made from rubble.
"Shadow creatures," she gasped, clawing at invisible enemies. "They're everywhere!"
"She's fighting them in her coma," Luna said grimly, checking Vale's pulse. "The incomplete bond is letting shadow magic into her dreams."
I grabbed Vale's hand, trying to anchor her to reality. "Vale, it's me. You're safe."
But she couldn't hear me. In whatever nightmare she was trapped in, she was completely alone.
"How long has she been like this?" Adrian asked, appearing beside us with blood on his clothes.
"Three hours," I replied. "Ever since she collapsed closing the rift."
"The shadow creatures in the real world are getting stronger," Zephyr reported, landing nearby in half-dragon form. "Without Vale's power to weaken them, they're spreading again."
