In Her Dreams

by Bolryder, Terry

  She sighs, squeezing my side. “I love the way you talk sometimes. So smart.”

  I grin. “I have to be in order to keep up with my dream mate.”

  “You have a good point, though,” she says. “I do feel this infinite sense of smallness when I look up at them. In a good way. Like no matter what, they’re watching over whatever happens here.”

  I grin. “And now that you know you’re immortal, you don’t have to think about the fact that you’ll soon be dust, blowing across the planet.”

  She wrinkles her nose. “That’s a terrible thing to say about humans. About everything in this world.”

  “Everything dies,” I say. “Even dream fae at some point, if they fail to bond. Humans are still interesting creatures, and some of them are kind and amazing. Some of them will literally die for strangers. But it’s the random element I can’t deal with. The way you are all mixed together and the way you often elevate nightmares.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes,” I say. “According to Joey, most of the nightmares at his school are rich and popular. Well, he calls them bullies.”

  “Right,” I say.

  “I wish humans didn’t see odd things as worthy of acclaim. Things like where you live or how much money you have. What we are in our hearts is everything.”

  She grins at me. “And this is why I love you. You’re so good inside, Reve.” She leans in to kiss me, and heat zings into my toes.

  I let the kiss go for a moment, just savoring the feel of her, and then I pull back, my hands on her shoulders. “Jen. I want to go somewhere with you. Don’t take it wrong.”

  She cocks her head. “Where?”

  “Your dream realm,” I say. “Well, your dreamscape, which is bordering the dream fae realm.”

  “My castle?” She bites her lip. “But only I go there.” She laughs. “It was like having a secret playhouse as a kid. I honestly thought it was just a dream until you told me otherwise.” She sighs. “I haven’t been back there lately, though.”

  “It might need some upkeep, but we should at least go see.”

  She peers at me suspiciously. “Is this about getting me to live in the dream realm?”

  “I don’t see why you don’t want to,” I say. “But can’t we at least go look at it together? I mean really get an idea of what you think?”

  She swallows nervously. “I guess so. I just… didn’t really think about going there with someone else.”

  “Even though you have a huge castle?”

  “I mainly just played in the outer yards. I didn’t know whose place it was when I was a kid and thought it belonged to someone. I didn’t want to get in trouble.”

  “You won’t ever,” I say. “It’s your place.”

  “Thanks.” She looks slightly reassured. “But I still don’t want to go there.”

  It’s my turn to swallow nervously. “Jen, I know you love this world, but it’s not truly your and Joey’s world. It’s more like you’re here as refugees. Which doesn’t mean you can’t stay, but there’s a world for people like you. Fae like you.”

  “I’m not even a full fae,” she says. “What if they don’t accept me?”

  I shake my head. “Impossible. You’re my dream mate. You’re full fae.”

  “What about Joey? Will they accept him?”

  “Of course,” I say. “He would have busy but doting grandparents. And start warrior training.”

  She flinches at that. “And if I don’t want him to?”

  “I don’t know. This is a situation the dream realm has never seen before. Lorien, Jerrek, and I are the first warriors to claim we have mates outside the dream fae realm and outside the other fae realms.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Lorien’s brother Landon knew his mate was in the fae realm and left to find her. That’s what led to Lorien finding out about this world and figuring out that Tess might be here. All of us came with him just on the possible hope of our mates being here too. And they were.” He cocks his head. “And now we know why. Because they are sending at least some dream fae here, based on Josh being here. Though, he’s not a nightmare, and they should only banish nightmares, so I’m not sure.”

  I look over to see her eyes wide. I’m probably confusing her again.

  “Anyway, I would never let anyone do anything you and Joey don’t like. I’d fight them to the death first.”

  Her cheeks heat prettily. “But that’s not necessary if we just stay here. It seems safer away from people who just banish people.”

  “There are rules there,” Reve says. “But I grew up in health and safety, and everyone I knew did as well. There is order, and for that to happen, rules must be followed.”

  “Such a goody-two-shoes,” she says.

  “I have heard that phrase,” I say. “I do like keeping rules. That’s why I wish I could take you to your dream world, but I’m incapable of doing anything you don’t want. It’s against everything in my training.” I give her a reassuring smile. “So I’ll wait until you’re ready.”

  She sighs. “I’m sorry I’m not there yet.”

  “It’s fine, dream mate,” I say. “But just so you know, we could make love there. I could renovate a room, and we could have silk curtains…”

  She laughs. “Now you’re just tempting me.” She stands, then reaches a hand to help me up. “We’ll see my dream realm one day. But for now, I’d love to continue things in a regular bed if you’re up for it.”

  Damn right I am, as humans would say.

  I sweep her up in my arms, loving her giggles as I carry her inside. “Let’s go, soul bond.”

  18

  Reve

  Jen is at work, and I have a date with her this evening, so I’m just trying to keep myself busy while she’s gone.

  I’ve been trying to figure out a way to buy her a car without using my magic, but it’s tough to work in the human world without an ID.

  So she doesn’t know it, but I’ve sort of been fixing her car in the meantime. It took only a short look under the hood to see some fairly dangerous things ready to break and threaten her life at any moment.

  And I did have high grades in restoration and repair.

  I know Jen probably won’t like that I’m using magic.

  But what she doesn’t know is that she and Joey could have died at any moment due to the poor condition of that car.

  Fae are immortal in that they don’t age past their prime. They don’t decay regularly, though if they aren’t aware of their magic, then perhaps they end up like normal humans.

  But even dream fae can be hurt or murdered. That’s why warriors watch out.

  And I love Jen, but I also love Joey. He already feels like my blood, and I knew he would be one of my soul bonds from the moment I knew he existed.

  I only hope it doesn’t get me in trouble that I had to fix Jen’s car to protect both of them.

  I’m only making tiny fixes, just the most urgent things.

  I’m on the computer, scrolling through job options, when I feel Lorien calling me through our bond.

  I need to talk to you.

  We’ve been together and known each other for so long that the three of us can generally communicate along our bond if we are far from each other.

  It takes magic but is still a little more familiar than phones to us.

  “Come on over,” I say out loud, knowing he’ll hear.

  The next moment, he’s there in a poof of smoke.

  I wave my hand, laughing. “We don’t even need to do that, you know. No humans here.”

  “I like it,” he says, cocking his head so his dark-blue and purple hair falls over his shoulder. He’s in dream fae robes, oddly enough. “Plus, Tess is here. Should be here any moment.”

  There’s a yellow puff of smoke, and Tess appears, wearing white dream fae robes, standing bent over with her hands on her knees.

  “My God, that takes energy,” she says, panting. “You two make this dream fae thing lo
ok so easy.”

  “Years of training,” I say. Hundreds of years, ha-ha. But she doesn’t need to know that.

  “I was just riding his track, and it took everything out of me. Then again, it has really been a day.” Tess walks over to the couch and flops down on it.

  “What do you mean?”

  Lorien looks at me, and I notice the stress lines on his face for the first time. “I have some bad news.”

  “Ah, I was hoping it was a social visit.”

  “Me too,” Lorien says. “I’m sorry I haven’t been here for much of your mate pursuit, but I figured you had it more covered than any of us. And Tess says Jen is really not into the whole ‘dream fae’ thing.”

  “You’ve done perfectly,” Reve says. “I’m doing great with Jen. And yes, she is having sort of a hard time with the fairy thing but more the fact that she and Joey are fairies and also belong in the dream realm. She wants to stay here.”

  “Yeah, this is where things just got tricky,” Tess says. “Because we were just in a meeting at the eighth kingdom, and they’re getting impatient with having three top warriors not even in reach of the realm if needed.”

  “They can’t call me back,” I say, frustrated.

  “They’re saying that being around nightmares, as they exist in this world, will eventually make nightmares of you. As warriors of the eighth realm, they can’t afford for that to happen. You’re too powerful to be corrupted.”

  “Nothing can corrupt me,” I say. “I hate nightmares with all of my soul.”

  “Nevertheless, the council has decided that since the world we found our mates in is also a fallen, dissolute world, we must bring our mates back there if we want to be with them. Staying here long term won’t be an option.”

  “What about just until Joey’s out of school?” I ask. “Not that I want him here, but Jen is really set on it.”

  Lorien shakes his head. “You won’t be allowed to stay here for years. There’s no way.”

  “How long do we have?”

  “Maybe days,” Lorien says. “The dream council said that if she’s truly your dream mate, she should know. Unlike in my situation, you two are getting advanced notice. But you will be recalled. And if she doesn’t want to come, you two will be separated.”

  My heart feels like it’s sinking into a deep crater below the ocean just at the thought of having to leave her behind.

  “Don’t be like that,” Tess says. “Sell her on the fae world. Look, I didn’t understand it that well at first, but now I love it there. We go back and forth because it’s such a nice place. Once she knows Joey will be safe there—”

  “I don’t think it will be that easy,” Lorien says. “Your friend is stubborn. Very stubborn, given that she hasn’t just mated Reve already.”

  Tess sighs. “You’re right. But there has to be a way…”

  “I hope I can get her to see the light,” I say. “To be honest, I feel a bit guilty because I have been arguing and trying to convince her to come back to the fae world since the beginning. I would be relieved to have us both there. But she is just going to feel trapped and manipulated.”

  “She loves you, right?” Tess says. “I can tell even from what she has said to me or Sandra. Or from the fact she even allows you around. We all know she doesn’t suffer fools. Be honest, and she’ll have to decide.”

  I rub my hands over my face and feel Lorien gently stroking my back to soothe me.

  I smile up at him because it is nice to have my friend again.

  “This is good news, actually,” Lorien says. “Because then it’s not something personal like not liking her world. It’s just a rule, and you can’t help it.”

  “Right,” I say. “Just a rule.” I frown. “But what if she’s not okay with it? What if she’d rather stay here without me than go to our world?”

  Lorien’s eyes widen in horror. “I hope it doesn’t come to that, then. Because if they try to tear you from your mate against your will, Jerrek and I will have something to say about it.”

  “You can’t fight the council,” I say. “They’re our family. And they aren’t even wrong about this world, though I would never become a nightmare here.”

  Lorien just shrugs. “They’re already really nervous about this mission. They don’t think agreeing to live in the fae realm is so much to ask.”

  I sigh. “Everything just got so complicated. Everything already is so complicated. Look, it’s already hard helping her with her son, trying to help them both adjust to this, winning her heart—”

  “You’ve already won it, though, right?” Lorien asks.

  I nod. “I think so. But I don’t know. Anyway, I guess I’ll tell her at dinner tonight. We’re going out.”

  At worst, if they come for me in a few days and I can’t fight them, I should make sure she and Joey will be safe until I get back.

  I look out the window at the driveway. Then I snap and materialize her LeBaron so it appears outside. I should have time to deal with it before she needs to drive home. I need to do the rest of the fixes.

  Lorien looks from the car to me, and Tess just laughs.

  “Oh, I like what you’re thinking,” she says. “That thing has needed fixing for forever!”

  “Will she be mad?” Lorien asks.

  I shake my head. “I don’t know, but she’ll be safe.”

  That’s about all I can ensure right now.

  * * *

  Jen

  I’m on lunch break when I check my phone and notice a voicemail from a number I never expected to hear from again.

  Mark’s brother, Adam.

  I admit I had a crush on him back before I got with Mark. He was taller, nicer, friendlier, but he graduated before us.

  Mark and I were both so young when we got married. Got pregnant.

  Adam went into the military not long after I married Mark, and I haven’t seen him since.

  Sometimes that seems a whole lifetime away.

  Sometimes my life here, now, with Reve feels more real than that place ever did.

  And then the past intrudes.

  I pick up the phone and listen to the voicemail.

  “Hi, Jen, it’s Adam. Look, I know it’s been a long time, but I recently got out of the army, and I’d love to get to know my nephew. I know me and my family don’t have any rights and that Mark has been an utter bastard. But I really did care about you as a sister-in-law, from the limited time I knew you, and I hope I can at least meet Joey and be of help. Maybe it’s presumptuous, but blood is blood, and I’d love to help be a father figure, to make up in some way for what my brother has done. Anyway, let me know. I’m in town, and here’s my number. I ended up visiting because Mark was in the hospital getting treated because some insane homeless person attacked him. I’ll be in town for a few days, so let me know. Bye, love.”

  Love. He says it so easily. Adam was always charming, but I honestly don’t know him that much.

  Mark’s parents were cold and somewhat unwelcoming, but they weren’t the outright pieces of crap that Mark was. And they helped me leave when he was abusive. Or at least didn’t take his side with the cops.

  But I still don’t know if I should let Adam into the picture.

  But doesn’t Joey deserve to know at least someone related to his dad?

  And isn’t Adam at least acknowledging that Mark was in the wrong? That he’s a bad person? Adam is just trying to make things right.

  I wonder if he looks at all like Joey.

  I sigh, shoving the phone in my pocket as I walk outside to grab a break in the sunlight. Today, lunch got delayed, so it’s already midafternoon. Above me, the trees are swaying in a cool breeze, and the sun is bearing down despite the cold weather.

  I love just breathing in the fresh air.

  “Jen?”

  I turn in shock at hearing my name, and my heart drops into my stomach when I see Adam.

  “You didn’t answer your voicemail,” he says. “Mark said you worked here. I re
ally wanted to get in touch—”

  I look at my watch. “I don’t have time. I’m on lunch.”

  “I’m really sorry for what happened between you and Mark,” Adam says. He’s tall and built and what most women would call handsome, but he doesn’t hold a candle to Reve.

  Reve was incandescently beautiful when I met him and has only become more beautiful in my eyes ever since.

  Someone like Adam doesn’t stand a chance.

  But he might have a right to be given a chance to be an uncle.

  “I need to go back inside soon,” I say, tapping my foot. My heart is racing just being around a relative of Mark’s.

  “I’m just sorry I wasn’t there sooner,” he says. “You know I would have had your side against Mark.”

  I shrug nonchalantly. “I handled it.”

  “A CNA, huh?” He looks at the hospital. “Cool job. You really came up in the world.”

  “As much as I could while being a single mom.”

  “Yeah, that’s hard,” he says sympathetically, taking a step forward.

  I take an uneasy step back.

  His face falls. “You don’t trust me?” He drops his hands to his sides, then shoves them in his pockets. “Look, I just want a chance to know my nephew. I know none of us deserve it, but doesn’t Joey deserve to know some of his family?” He cocks his head, giving me a look I’m sure he knows is rakish. “Not all of us are bad.”

  I sigh, shoving a hand through my hair. So much has happened lately. I feel utterly overwhelmed.

  I’m glad to know they think Mark was attacked by a homeless person, though.

  Adam is still peering at me thoughtfully. “You don’t know anything about how Mark was attacked, do you? He was giving us a crazy story about someone whipping him and almost strangling him to death.”

  “Right,” I say. “By a homeless person?”

  Adam shrugs. “That’s what he said. But privately, he mentioned to me that it happened outside your house.”