The nightmare’s true form.
And just as it looks over at me, I see Joey trapped in a translucent crystal beneath him.
If I don’t save Joey, he’ll just be food for this soulless villain.
I draw both my whips, saving only the barest amount of energy to shield me from this place, and move forward quickly, watching carefully because nothing in my training ever prepared me to fight a nightmare this old or this powerful.
“You think you can defeat me here? In the very void of evil?” It chuckles, an inhuman sound that rumbles the entire island. “I will destroy you and use this little one’s energy to restore my life force. So much love in a child. So much goodness to devour.”
“On my life, you will fall.” My whips glow and crackle as my care for Joey and Jen surges within me, giving me a final surge of strength.
“Welcome to your end.” At that, the nightmare’s unnaturally long arm comes crashing down toward me. I leap, feeling the ground shatter beneath a blow that sends rocks flying, and narrowly avoid him.
By the time I’m on my feet, he’s swinging again, sweeping his other arm with a grunt of rage.
I slash my whip toward him, slicing off half of his hand, which falls to the ground and bubbles like poison. The creature screeches, and I watch as the hand regenerates, the inky blackness of its body returning to normal, but I don’t stop my attack.
Using all the strength I have in my arms, I begin to swing both whips in rapid succession, snaps and cracks breaking the utter silence of this place as I strike its shoulders, its chest, its legs. Thick pieces of the nightmare fly off, only to be regenerated instantly, but I press my attack.
Whatever is at the heart of this monster, I will destroy it so it can’t hurt another being again.
Or ever come near my soul bonds again.
Cauchemar howls as I slice through the center of him, and for a moment, I see a pulsing dark energy revealed—a heart, black and beating and empty—and I know I’ve found his weakness.
I cock my arm back, striking forward with all the speed I can muster, hoping to end him. But to my utter shock, the nightmare grabs the end of my whip midflight. And though I can hear sizzling and burning, I’m caught off guard as he yanks me forward toward him.
I have no choice but to let go of the whip, and it disappears as I tumble over uneven ground. For a moment, I try to dematerialize and reappear, but my dream powers are useless here as they were in the bubble.
“Die! Die, die, die,” Cauchemar screams in a frenzy as he smashes the ground in a whirl of movement. I watch as long claw-like appendages shoot out from its fingertips, and I duck just as his bladed hands barely miss me.
Without my armor, without my defense, I’m utterly vulnerable.
But as my mentor once said: Better to leave yourself vulnerable and put everything on the line for love than to shield yourself from pain and live out your days alone.
“Give. Joey. Back,” I respond, whipping at him with each word as I parry and move. A glimmer of hope lights inside me as I realize the more I hurt him, the more exposed his heart gradually becomes.
I’m trying to concoct a plan through the flurry of blows when the nightmare smashes a tall, jagged rock to the side of me, sending razor-like boulders hurling toward me. I turn to face the largest one, pulling my whip and slicing down the center of it, and the two pieces tumble and explode on both sides of me.
But before the dust can clear, a wide slash flies forward, catching me across the back and sending me down onto my face. Bright pain lances through me, my exposed flesh burning in the acrid air.
I turn onto my back just as a huge hand crushes down on my chest, pinning me to the ground, and Cauchemar looms over me cruelly.
Even without a mouth, it’s as if I can see him sneer at me, red eyes squinting with glee.
“Such hope in you. Such determination. Pity I couldn’t have fed on you too.” With that, he raises his other arm high above him, the sharp edges of his fingers glinting with energy in the dim starlight behind him. I push against his strength, trying to reach for my whip, but it’s no use.
This is the end.
The sound of something shattering to our left interrupts the grim calm before the final blow, and both of us look in the direction of the sudden noise.
“Let Reve go!”
I’m both surprised and horrified as I see Joey charging forward, blue whip glowing in one hand, other hand reaching toward me as he runs.
I don’t even have time to warn him away as Joey leaps only slightly farther than a normal human child might be able to muster and brings his whip down on the nightmare’s arm that has me pinned.
His small whip glows as it cuts a clean path right across its elbow, and the nightmare screeches a hideous sound and rears back.
I have just enough time to get out from beneath the sizzling, dissipating mass of void energy, and I rush to Joey, who wraps his arms around me tightly.
I want to scold him, tell him he shouldn’t have done something so reckless.
Yet I’m so proud of him I can barely contain it.
My little warrior. So strong.
“Did you see? Did you see? I used my whip!” he exclaims gleefully, not fully aware of the direness of our situation, I think. “I just thought about how much I love Mom and how much I wanted to save you, and it just appeared in my hand.”
“Yes, you did great.”
Behind us, Cauchemar reels and howls in pain, arm slowly regenerating but leaving his heart even more exposed.
“Be careful. This place is dangerous. We must act quickly.”
“Yeah, it hurts to breathe like that one time Mom burned the oil and the whole house reeked.”
I use what remaining energy I have to bring my wings out. And even though they’re so much shorter than when I’m at full power, I keep Joey behind me, using the magic from my wings to surround him and protect him from the poison that’s slowly taking its toll.
“What do you say we finish this together?”
“And get back to Mom?” His brown eyes sparkle, reminding me of Jen.
“And get back to your mother,” I reply hopefully, knowing that I have no way of leaving this place but also knowing I have to try regardless.
Both our whips spark, and I move forward as ominous red eyes meet mine.
The nightmare charges at us, swinging with his one good hand, and I throw my whip forward in a horizontal arc, cutting halfway through his legs. It falls to its knees, arm hitting the ground next to us, and Joey raises both hands over his head and brings his whip down, cutting the creature’s hand off clean.
I don’t pay attention to the scream of pain or cries for mercy coming from Cauchemar as I whip his shoulder, knocking the rest of his arm off as it keels over to its side. He tries to bat us away with what’s left of the other arm, and with a zap, it’s gone too, the nightmare writhing on the ground.
“Please. I never meant to hurt anyone. It was just an accident. You can’t fault me for being what I am. I was just trying to survive.” His useless cries for pity fall on deaf ears, and I see the center of its heart spinning like a black hole in his chest.
If he hadn’t been stopped, he would have killed my soul bonds.
With one final strike, I slice down the center of the nightmare’s heart, sundering it in two, and Cauchemar lets out a final cry of rage before disappearing into ash and soot that dissipates on an invisible breeze.
It’s over.
I fall to my knees, completely sapped of energy. My whip disappears because I need what little magic I have left to power my wings, which surround Joey as I pick him up in my arms.
“That was awesome!” Joey yells.
“You did great, Joey.” I take the small moment of respite I can before it’s interrupted by a rumbling deep beneath us.
An earthquake shakes the ground, and I realize with horror that the void realm is collapsing now that the nightmare is defeated. Far off in the sky, tiny stars are exploding, go
ing out like light bulbs, casting us in an even deeper gloom while the ground cracks.
I get to my feet, running for the edge of nowhere as a deep crack splits the floating island in half. With an ominous rumble, large chunks of each side fall away, disappearing as they’re sucked into a lightless void beneath, but I keep moving.
I call for Lorien and Jerrek, hopeful they’ll find a way here even as the poison in the air sucks the very breath out of me, and I fall to my knees.
Joey looks up at me, the direness of our situation finally setting in. “What’s going on? Are the others coming or what?”
“They will. They will. Your mom and the others will find us. Everything will be okay.” Even as my wings shorten, I give all I have left to protect Joey as the teal glow surrounds him. I’m sending my magic all around him so that, even if I die, he has a chance to live.
“I love you, Reve,” Joey says, and I feel his tears on my shoulder as what armor I can produce from what’s left of my magic covers his small body.
“You’re the best little warrior I’ve ever had the honor of knowing.” I hold him until even the strength in my arms gives out, and I collapse onto my back as Joey struggles to try to get me up.
If the Great Connector saw fit for me to give my life for my dream mate and her son, then I can truly count myself lucky.
The ground rumbles and more chunks of earth fall away, and I ready myself for the great beyond. Then suddenly, I feel a pale glow on my skin that’s getting brighter and brighter.
I force my eyes open, expecting to see anything else but a curvy, familiar form ahead of us, enveloped in bright-yellow energy that surrounds her like a magic bubble.
My love.
My life.
“Jen?” I ask, voice dry.
Jen reaches us, and I realize that it isn’t a bubble around her but a cascade of yellow wings as bright as the sun, swirling and protective and strong.
I knew she was strong from the moment I laid eyes on her.
My relief is instant as the acrid air dissipates, and I can breathe again in the safety of her love.
“Mom! You came!”
“How… did you get here?” I try to push up, but I’m still too weak to move.
“Lorien told me there’s no time to wait. I just followed your and Joey’s stream of magic, and it led me here.” Renewed hope fills me as she looks down at me with her radiant beauty. “But the void is collapsing. We have to go.”
“I’m so happy… to see you.” My thoughts spin as I try to do something, but the relief of not having the void’s magic drain me only reminds the rest of my body how deep its wounds are.
“Can you help me move him, Joey?” Jen asks her son, who nods. I continue to look up at her in a daze and wonder if she has impenetrable-looking fae armor on or if my eyes are just blurry.
I suppose it only makes sense given how many hardships she’s weathered over her life. How she’s been able to keep her love for her son safe for all these years without letting it be killed by the cruelty in the human world.
The strongest person I’ve ever met. With armor strong enough to save us even in a void realm.
Jen and Joey each take an arm, and I feel myself dragged over shaking ground that continues to rumble as the island gets smaller and smaller. Then, just as I’m about to pass out, I feel whooshing and clean air as a portal sucks us backward, away from the void, and I watch with mild interest as the last bit of ground explodes and everything blinks out of existence before me.
Then suddenly, there’s bright blue sky high above me, as familiar as it is unnatural to my fae upbringing.
We’re alive.
We’re home.
We’re safe.
With that thought ringing through my mind, I pass out.
* * *
Jen
“Reve!” Jerrek yells, running forward to where Reve is lying unconscious.
The odd teal armor that was covering Joey falls away, leaving him in his regular blue tee shirt and jeans, which are tattered from being in the void realm.
I still can’t believe I managed to find them and get them back. I look down at the heavy-duty armor covering me and focus, hoping it will disappear again and come back when I need it.
It does.
I glance at Jerrek, who is hovering over Reve.
“He’s going to be okay, right?” I ask. “He’s just exhausted.” I know I am, my heart still pounding from everything that just happened.
But it was Reve, my sweet Reve, who fought hardest.
For both me and my son.
How could I ever leave him again after that?
“Give me a second,” Lorien says, walking forward and kneeling so he can pull Reve’s face onto his legs. “Hey, buddy.” He taps his cheek lightly. “Your soul bond is here, worrying about you.”
Reve lets out a moan, and then his eyes open, bright teal in the sunlight now that there’s no dome around us. His teal hair is matted and falling over one shoulder. “Jen, Joey?”
“Right here,” I say, running over to him. Jerrek moves back to stand with Joey. I grab Reve’s hand in mine, and he smiles slightly.
“You okay, dream mate?”
“I am thanks to you.” I smile. “Thanks to all your training.”
“I didn’t know you could dual wield,” Lorien says. “Most impressive.”
Reve grins weakly. “I’m just… full of surprises. I guess I just did it because it was needed. Couldn’t let them hurt my bonds.”
Jerrek steps forward, one arm around Joey. “How are you feeling?” he asks Reve.
Reve shrugs. “Sick. Tired. Will probably pass out again soon.” He looks at me. “Sorry, dream mate.”
“You’ll be okay, though?” I ask worriedly.
Reve nods. “It’s not unknown for dream fae to rest after a tough battle.” He leans back slightly. “Everything will be okay now.”
I kneel by Lorien and move Reve’s head onto my lap. He closes his eyes in pleasure as I run my hand through his gorgeous teal hair. “I’m so sorry for earlier, Reve.”
“It’s okay, soul bond.” He smiles. “No one said love would be easy. I’m just glad I could keep you safe.” His eyes twinkle. “And thanks for saving me. Your armor is amazing. Then again, I always knew my dream mate was incredibly strong.”
“I’m glad I could get there in time,” I say.
“I’m going to get you two inside,” Jerrek says. “Then, if it’s okay, I’m going to take Joey to stay with me and Sandra. Just so you can focus on healing up with Reve.”
“Is that okay, Joey?” I ask. After all, he has been through something traumatic too.
Then again, if Reve is going to be in and out of a coma, then I won’t be mentally present anyway.
“Aunt Sandra’s house!” Joey says, punching the air. I’m glad that Reve seems to have kept him protected enough that he never really felt in that much danger. “Cookies! Cookies!”
“Really?” I ask, smiling at him as he comes over to give me a hug. “After all that, cookies are what you’re after?”
He grins. “It was just like a video game. We beat the bad guy together. You should have seen it, Mom.”
I kiss him on the cheek, and he pretends not to like it. “You’ll have to tell me everything when you get back. But are you sure you don’t want to stay here?”
He wrinkles his nose. “I’m sure you two will just be doing mushy stuff.”
“If I’m going to be your new dad, there is going to be a lot of mushy stuff,” Reve says. “I’m sorry.”
“I love you, Reve,” Joey says, hugging Reve too. “I guess if it’s you, things can be mushy.”
My heart is going to explode as I watch my two men hug. I’m just so glad we’re all okay again.
Lorien and Tess come over for hugs as well, telling us as soon as Reve is better, they are coming to visit so we can talk about relocating to the dream realm.
Then everyone, including Joey and Jerrek, steps back.
&n
bsp; “Okay, Jerrek. Move us,” I say, holding on to Reve. The next moment, the world disappears and reappears as Reve and I land on the bed in my room.
“Oof,” Reve says, falling back onto the bed, pulling me with him with an arm around me.
“That was quick,” I say.
“Jerrek’s strong,” Reve says. “Not the best control all the time, but strong.” He strokes back my hair gently. “How are you feeling, soul bond?”
I look up into his eyes, realizing that I really do get to see the beautiful color there for the rest of my life.
To be with Reve for the rest of my life.
“You called for me,” Reve says. “Does this mean everything’s fine?” His expression goes tense for a moment. “Or are you still worried about leaving this world? Because, Jen, I’d do anything for you. I thought about it, and I can’t leave you. Not of my own accord. I do wish we could go to my world, just to be safe there. But I won’t leave you. I can’t. I’d rather stay here and die if I have to when they come to get me.”
I wince. “Never, Reve.” I stroke his hair back, noting he seems slightly clammy. He’s still getting back his strength. “I was wrong to fight with you. To send you away. I was just afraid of my past. Afraid of my own judgment. Afraid to mess up again.”
“It could never be a mistake when it’s you and me,” Reve says gently. “I’m so glad you want me back. I can only be with you, soul bond.”
I grin and lean forward gently, catching his lips with my own. We kiss for a long time, simply holding each other.
When I pull back, I brace my head against his, wrapped in his warmth. “Reve, I want you forever. Be mine, dream mate?”
He smiles, stroking my cheek with so much love in his eyes I might die. “I already am. I already was. I always will be. I love you, dream mate.”
“We can go to your world,” I say. “We can fix up my dreamscape. Anything to stay together.”
He grins, and I can tell just hearing this is helping invigorate him. “I’m so glad, though I know it will be scary for you. I promise, Jen, I’ll always make you happy.”
I smile back, bringing my lips just against his. “I believe you.”
Then I curl in against his side, glad that I finally have my happy ending with my dream warrior.
In Her Dreams Page 17
