Am I dreaming? I must be dreaming.

But everything looked so…real. Skylar stood still for a moment, just taking it in. This is just a very real dream… The most real she’d ever had of this game. Never before had she been able to feel the ground so well beneath her feet, or the breeze caressing her face, blowing strands of hair against her lips.

She was jarred out of her thoughts by Penny grabbing her hand. “Come on!”

Left with no choice, Skylar followed. Her feet seemed to move without her even thinking about it—and she knew instinctively where to go. When Penny ran one way, she veered off in the other direction.

Even though she was technically in a dangerous situation, all she could think about was how amazing it was to run without fear of her glasses falling off. As Zariel, she could see clearly—and she was fast and strong too. It was like she could do anything.

Okay, when I wake up tomorrow, I’m definitely going to start working out and running. Maybe if she was just as fast as Zariel, she wouldn’t have missed that stupid bus and she’d have actually landed that job at the video game company.

But forget that—there was a horse cart up ahead. And she needed to catch it so she would make it to the right alley in time. Surging forward, she leapt onto the cart. At least I made this one, even if I missed the bus.

She took a moment to relax, then abruptly slapped herself. Nope, still asleep, still here.

As soon as she saw the alley where she needed to be, she jumped off, slamming into the ground— Ouch. Her hand hurt from bracing the fall, and she realized with alarm that it was bleeding. She winced. So much of this felt so…real. Maybe too real.

She’d barely had the thought before a guard was jumping out of the shadows. He’d been lying in wait for her. Roughly, he pulled her wrists behind her back and began to tie her hands, making her wince again.

“Hey,” she told him before she even realized what she was doing. “That really hurts!”

The guard looked at her like she was an idiot, but she ignored him. This was so…weird. As exciting as it usually was to dream herself into her favorite game, she wasn’t quite sure how she felt about this new all-too-real hurt factor. What if she’d landed on something other than her hands? Would she have broken a bone?

She bit back her protests as the guard pulled her onto his horse and they rode toward their next destination.

***

The next thing she knew, she was being thrown—hard—into a jail cell. “You don’t have to be so rough with me,” she admonished the guard, who ignored her completely.

Okay, time to get it together. “I have no idea how long I have in this dream,” she told herself, “but I’m just going to roll with it, because…” Because her heart was already quickening in anticipation of the meeting that was coming—very soon. Each night she played the game she felt a rush of excitement when she knew she was about to team up with Anders.

But that seemed like nothing in comparison to the thought of him being here—real and in the flesh, just like the guards and Penny.

“Oh, but what if I slip and say something stupid? Obviously, I know the right thing to say. I always know the right thing to say in order to get to the next step of the game. But this isn’t just some dialogue I choose—this is me being face-to-face with the hottest man in existence. Well, in video game existence.”

The guard turned, snapping, “Will you shut up already?”

Ignoring him, she searched the cell for a mirror to check her looks. Oh right…there isn’t a mirror in here…except for the bucket of water.

She walked over and looked down at her reflection. Of course, it was no surprise to see the face of Zariel, the much better version of herself, staring back at her. She was never like this in the real world. “I still can’t believe it,” she whispered, touching her face. “Wow. Just…wow. Too bad this isn’t more than a dream, however real it feels. God, I can’t believe I’m about to meet him!”

The guard came up to the bars. “If you don’t shut up, then I will come in there and knock you out.”

“Go ahead,” she said flippantly. “Come in. Try to hurt me. See what happens if you do.” She knew exactly what would happen, but he didn’t—which was what made this fun. As long as she was here, she would make the most of it and enjoy herself to the fullest.

He narrowed his eyes. “What did you say?”

“You heard me. Hey, big bad guard man, come and get me!”

The guard, looking murderous, drew his sword and started to throw the door open, but another figure intercepted him, striding in and punching him hard enough to knock him out.

“That was as good as I thought it would be,” she breathed, looking up as the other figure came into the light, revealing himself in all his glory.

Her avenging angel. Anders.

Maybe it was just a tad cliché, but she could have easily fainted in that moment, meeting the man she loved for the first time—or what felt like the first time, because everything was so much more real in this version of the dream.

She studied him eagerly, taking in his magnificent beauty. Up close, he looked even more mesmerizing, with golden hair and amber eyes. An overall perfect being. He seriously could have been an angel.

“Wow,” she said, unable to stop herself. Was she drooling? She quickly checked her mouth as he started to speak. Nope, no drool.

“Sorry about that,” he said, indicating the guard. His voice was deep and rich, even better in person than it sounded coming out of speakers. It melted against her senses like honey. How would it be to have that voice say her name, to whisper endearments into her ear, to be the first thing she heard when she woke up every morning?

Ugh, too good. Too freaking good.

“I had bribed him into catching you for me, and he was supposed to leave you alone,” Anders was saying. “But obviously he has no manners. I guess I should have expected as much from a hired hand.”

Skylar could hardly breathe as he entered the cell and held out his hand to her. “I’m—”

“Prince Anders,” she gushed, taking his hand and squeezing it—probably too tightly, too eagerly. She quickly dropped it, embarrassed, but the warmth of his palm lingered. He was really here. Right in front of her. Close enough to touch, to smell—like citrus and pine. Holy shit. He smelled good, sounded good, looked good…

He gave her a crooked smile, and she had to physically fight the urge to swoon. Because everything this man did was definitely swoon-worthy.

Get it together, Skylar. Play the part.

“You should be careful saying those words out loud,” he cautioned her. “If the wrong person heard you…”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, feeling her face flush. No, wait. That isn’t right. I’m supposed to be the confident Zariel. And Zariel doesn’t gush or blush.

“There’s no need to be shy with me,” he assured her. “I’ve been looking for you. I sent this man to look in my stead.”

Right. This was how the game went. And next he would tell her—

“I’m willing to bet that you would do anything for your freedom,” he continued. “Which is why I have a proposition for you. Come and fight with me against the Masked Emperor who stole my kingdom, and I’ll work my connections to get the charges on you dropped.”

She was only half aware of what he was saying. Instead, her thoughts were flying around her head, too fast and too many to keep up with. This was a golden opportunity she’d landed in, and she realized it as he spoke, her eyes drawn to his hands, which moved as he talked, his shoulders—as broad as she’d expected them to be, his lips, which were oh-so perfect…yup. This was, she was sure, the greatest chance in the world to do something she never would have gotten the opportunity to do before. And she was going to embrace it.

Even if this was a dream, why couldn’t she do something for herself for once? No missing buses, no late job interviews, no more lame telemarketing gigs. For once, maybe she could get something she deserved.

As long as I’m here, I’m going to make him fall in love with me for real.

Realizing that he had stopped speaking and was looking at her expectantly, she said the words that, before, she had always chosen. They suddenly seemed as natural to her as breathing.

“Wherever you lead, I will follow.”