Chapter 5: Living
Threads of dreams.
Threads of desire, of hope, and fear, and longing, and lust.
Threads tangling between my fingers and singing of life and death and that which lies beyond.
Every single one feels distinct, unique. But they all have one thing in common: every single thread was born in the heart of a human.
So how the hell does this clotted nightmare of a wall have threads of its own?
“Don’t act so shocked, dear,” Maryam strokes the barrier, rings sparking and polish crackling in the heat of its arcane force. It roils beneath her touch—in panic or pleasure I have no way to divine. “So I had to sacrifice a little blood in the process—just look how many lives I’ve saved over the years.”
Cadence’s thoughts are frantic, inarticulate. A welter of emotion, gibbering horro
