by Bailey Dark
He smiled devilishly. “So, no make-out sessions?” he said wagging his brows suggestively. I shoved a shoulder into him.
“No chance, Druitt. I’m done with boys.”
“We can call Mallory in here,” he said sticking his tongue out the side of his mouth, eyes gleaming with mirth.
“Not a chance! Get that out of your mind and keep your hands to yourself.”
He chuckled. “Fine. Cuddle?”
“I can completely get on board with that.”
We laid in bed together, wrapped into each other’s arms. It wasn’t romantic. It was two friends supporting each other after a day from hell. We talked about memories from our past. Things that made us laugh, smile, and groan. We talked for what felt like hours until we both fell into a deep sleep.
“I’m so sorry, Gwen,” Tristan said. His hand slid down my cheek. “I never meant to hurt you. You’re the one person that I care most about in this life, and I’ve managed to fuck it all up.”
“Why did you do it?” I asked, sounding groggy.
“I didn’t have a choice.”
“We always have a choice, Tristan. You just always chose the wrong thing.”
He flinched. “I’m trying to keep you safe, Gwen. That’s all I’ve ever cared about.”
“How can you care for me when you are constantly leaving me?”
He sighed heavily. “Sometimes leaving is the very thing that keeps you safe, and I’ll continue to choose that every time.”
My eyes searched his for any trace of dishonesty. I found none.
“Right now, I need to know where you are so I can help you. Where are you, Gwen?
“Right here,” I breathe out yawning and stretching while I do.
“Where is here?” he asks impatiently. “We’re running out of time.”
“I’m with you, Tristan. That’s all that matters,” I said dreamily.
“Gwen, listen to me. I need to know where you and the others are. You need to tell me now.”
His irritation suddenly angered me. How does he have any right to talk to me like this?
He doesn’t get to bark orders and expect me to obey. I’m not his anymore.
“Why should I tell you?” I demanded.
“Please,” he begged, looking almost scared.
An unseen force pulled me from Tristan. The more it pulled the further into the distance Tristan faded. I reached for him, but he was too far gone. The last thing I heard was his voice, “open the letter.”
I was jerked awake by someone shaking my shoulders.
“Gwen, wake up,” someone said, sitting above me. I couldn’t figure out what was going on.
“W-what?” I asked, feeling disoriented.
“Are you okay? You kept saying Tristan’s name in your sleep.”
When the fog finally cleared, I realized it was Lance. A wave of crushing disappointment crashed over me as I grasped that it was only just a dream.
Blowing out a heavy breath, I admitted, “It was a dream. We can go back to bed now.” “Let me get you a glass of water,” he said jumping from the bed.
Once he was gone, I started breathing exercises to try to calm myself. I thought about my dream and how sweet Tristan had been until the end. Why couldn’t my mind give it a rest? Why did it consistently insist on bringing up subjects I wanted to suppress?
It had been much like the dream walks of the past had felt. So real, but so different from all those other times. To begin with, my dream walking had always transported me to a sequence from the past. My dream had never happened before.
Was my subconscious that desperate for him? Would I ever be able to come to terms with the fact that he had betrayed me, and there would never be an us again?
Lance returned to the room, handing me a glass of water. I took a few greedy sips and put it on the table next to me, while he fluffed my pillow to settle me back in.
“Try to get some rest, Gwennie. You need it,” Lance said in a soothing tone as he placed a kiss on my forehead.
“Thanks, Lance. You too.”
We both turned our backs to each other, trying to get comfortable, but sleep didn’t come for me. My mind just kept conjuring images of Tristan.
Chapter Three
The next morning, I awoke to an empty bed. Chattering coming from the other side of the door told me everyone else was already up. I sat up, stretching my hands above my head and groaning.
The day before had proven to be quite a workout, running from the council, and I was physically and mentally exhausted. I wanted nothing more than to lie back down and snuggle into the cozy comforter, but we had to make a plan. Right now, we were sitting ducks. It would only be so long before the council found a way to locate us. They may not have powers, but they’d find someone who did. There was no doubt about that.
Somehow, I managed to pull myself out of bed despite my body’s insistence to stay put.
I threw on one of the very few outfits I was able to stuff into my bag, before joining my new housemates. They were all seated around the table with their heads huddled together.
“What are you guys doing?” I ask as three sets of eyes snapped to me.
“You’re awake,” Mallory said with a smile. “We’ve just been discussing everything.”
“And?” I questioned eager to hear what they had come up with because any plan was better than nothing.
“Well…” Holly said sounding irritated. “If it’s up to Lance, we’re going to storm the council building…just the four of us…with no help.” My eyes widen at this news.
“What?” he said exasperated. “They don’t have powers and we do,” he grunts at my lack of support. “Nobody had anything better,” he said crossing his arms over his chest sulking.
“It’s… ambitious,” I state.
“It’s suicide,” Holly snapped.
“I don’t hear anyone else coming up with anything better,” Lance snapped back.
I sat down at the table, taking the final of the four chairs. “Let’s run through everything that we know,” I suggest, hoping to steer the conversation back to productivity. We’d get nowhere by arguing with each other.
“Well, we know the Dowager Coven was there the night of the murder,” Mallory said.
We also know that the council doesn’t have powers and we can assume that was due to the coven.”
“We also know the murderer is a woman, and if Tristan did anything right, he knows who she is,” Lance chimed in.
“Yeah, but we’ll never get that out of him. He’s a traitor,” Holly spit, and I flinched. This, of course, was not new news, but it didn’t hurt any less hearing it again.
“We’re just going to have to find out for ourselves,” I state. Three sets of eyes turn to me with a mix of confusion and interest. “We all know how this dream walking thing works. We have all the other information that we need, so if I can just get myself back there again, I can hang around to figure out who she is.”
“Does it really matter,” Lance asked. “Clearly she’s part of the coven.”
“Not true,” Holly said sounding a tad offended for someone who supposedly has no ties to the coven.
“How do you figure?” Lance countered.
“The woman didn’t arrive with the coven and she handed Excalibur over,” she said tersely. “What were her words?” Holly asked, rubbing her temple, trying hard to recall.
“I have it now. We’re even,” I say, reciting the words the killer spoke. “But more importantly, the coven leader said, your council will pay for all of their lies.”
“Exactly! See it wouldn’t make sense that she was part of the coven if she is part of the council.”
“The witch didn’t say she was part of the council,” I interjected. “She implied that the woman was a sorcerer if anything, but your mother is half sorcerer, half-witch, this woman could be the same.”
Holly narrowed her eyes at me. “Are you insinuating that the killer is my mother? Because let me assure you,
my mom is no killer.”
“Why are you being so temperamental?” Mallory questioned Holly. “The coven is behind the murders whether they carried it out themselves or had the woman do it is of no consequence. Those Knight’s blood is on all of their hands,” she sighed. “But nobody has accused you or your mother of having anything to do with it.”
“I’m not, I just don’t love the fact that we’re jumping to conclusions. These are serious allegations, and there have already been wars started for less. Sorcerers and various covens have been at odds for centuries. I don’t think it would be wise of us to stir up more issues until we uncover the facts.”
“I agree,” I said. “It doesn’t do us any good to speculate. Let’s continue on with what we know,” I press. Holly gave me a small smile full of gratitude. I wasn’t saying it to appease her, she was right, we can’t assume anything. Too much is at stake for us to point fingers.
“The council is after us,” Lance stated, moving the conversation forward. “They’ll say that they just want to talk, but according to Chancellor Andrews, they’re going to come for us because we know they don’t have powers and that knowledge is dangerous for them.”
“Right,” I broke in. “There are plenty of sorcerers who would love to overthrow the council and if they knew what was going on, this would be the perfect time.”
“It would be chaos for sure,” Mallory added.
“So they’ll either kill us or they’ll use us. Either way, I won’t go,” Holly sneered.
“Nobody’s going anywhere,” I said resolutely. “It’s settled, I’ll dream walk and find out who the killer is. If we know that, we might be able to figure out the motive.”
“That or we could use it as leverage to save ourselves from the council,” Mallory suggested.
I nodded, knowing it was the only thing we could do at this time. We needed all of the information and dream walking was the only way.
I had been ordered back to my room to sleep for the rest of the day. Dream walking stripped me of energy, and I was already hurting from the last time I had done it. For this to work, I needed my strength.
I rolled over and smiled at Tristan lying next to me. I knew I should hate him and that getting up from that bed would be the best decision, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. It was only a dream and I intended to bask in it for his long as I could. No matter what, there had been a sense of security lying in his arms.
“Hi beautiful,” he said smiling.
“Hi,” I answered back while taking in his incredible face. His blue eyes seem almost grey and they were the most beautiful things I’d ever seen. They always had been.
“Come here,” he said pulling me tighter into him and securing his lips firmly over mine. I sigh into him basking in his languid kisses. When his tongue coaxed my mouth open wider, I allowed it without a second thought. It was my dream and there wasn’t anyone to stop me. I couldn’t bring myself to regret it.
His hands roamed over me, spreading heat in their wake. Tingles electrified every nerve ending as my body arched, begging for more.
“Baby,” he chuckled. “Calm down. I just wanna hold you.”
“No,” I ground out. “I need you.”
His eyes searched mine. When he found no hesitation, he dove back in. I lifted my hips as he slid my pants down my thighs. He pulled away from me once more. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Please,” I begged.
He lowered his own pants hovering over me. “God I’ve missed you,” he whispered, inserting two fingers inside of me.
He began to pump in and out of my pussy, drawing moans from my lips. My hips rose, meeting his rhythm. Running his slicked fingers over my folds, he coated me, getting me ready for his impressive cock. I didn’t need any help, I was soaked, panting with need.
I felt his dick at my entrance and held my breath for the inevitable stretch that I so desperately wanted. As he pushed inside my entire body exhaled. He groaned only prompting me to meet his thrusts and intensify the pace.
I didn’t want to delude myself into thinking this was anything more than fucking. I didn’t want him to cherish me. I wanted him to make me forget everything.
“Harder,” I urged, and he obliged. Before long, my orgasm was building. I put my hands on his shoulders and pushed him to his back, climbing on top.
“Gwen,” he groaned, barely containing himself.
“Fuck me, Tristan. That’s all I want from you.”
I begin to ride him, throwing my head back and enjoying the feel of his massive cock spreading me. The sensation was so real, so...intense, that my body shook with the force of my orgasm.
I came with an intensity I’d never believed possible. My moans were met with Tristan’s own shouts of release. As we both came down from our high, I collapsed to my back beside him. Breathing heavily neither one of us said a word for several minutes.
“That was… Incredible,” Tristan finally said.
I remained silent. Dream or no, he didn’t deserve anything from me. I got what I needed.
A momentary relief in a safe space. Nobody but I needed to know that I still craved him. So much so, that I conjured him to my dreams.
After what felt like forever, Tristan turned towards me. His sad eyes beseeching me to say something. “Gwen, where are you?” he said, playing with a stray lock of hair.
Why he kept asking me this question was beyond me. I didn’t know where I was exactly.
Is it my subconscious asking more than I even realize? Perhaps it’s my mind wondering where the Gwen of a week ago is?
She’s dead.
“Don’t pretend like you care,” I snapped, suddenly over this dream.
He frowned at my abrupt mood change. I was frustrated, which was ridiculous because this was my dream. I controlled what went on. He has no power over me here. Yet, he seemed to anyway. Somehow dream Tristan had managed to kill my mood.
“I’ll always care,” he stressed the words and I laughed humorlessly.
Not even dream Gwen could pretend everything was okay.
“Please understand. Please…let me explain,” he said flustered.
“Can we not just lay here?” I grumbled. “Why do you have to ruin a good thing?”
He took a deep breath and sat up. “I need to find you. That’s why I came here.”
There were so many questions that came with that statement, but I couldn’t care to ask them. This dream had already gone too far.
“You need to let me go.”
I closed my eyes and willed him away, hating myself for allowing even my dreams to tie me to him.
Chapter Four
When I had woken up from my dream, the sun was already setting, causing shadows to dance around the room. The house was quiet, and I was thankful. I needed some time to process my time with Tristan. Why did I keep doing that? Why was it that every time I closed my eyes, he was there?
A creaking of the door to my room drew my attention.
“Gwen, are you awake? Lance said from the doorway.
So much for processing things.
“Yes,” I said my voice gravelly with sleep.
“I’m gonna turn on the light,” he said preparing me for the onslaught. I stretched my arms over my head and yawned. Lance frowned, “are you sure you’re up for this? There’s no reason why we have to do this tonight. You can get another night’s worth of sleep and we can do it tomorrow.”
The very last thing I wanted or needed to do was close my eyes. I needed to do everything in my power to rid myself of him and my carnal thoughts where he was concerned.
“Why are your cheeks so flushed?” he asked looking amused. “what were you doing in here?” his brow quirked in question.
If possible, my face caught on fire. Was it that obvious that I’d been getting it on in my sleep? How. Freaking. Embarrassing.
“I mean, no need to touch and tell, but feel free to touch and tell,” he smirked.
My hand flew out and connected with h
is shoulder. “I was doing no such thing, Druitt. Rid your mind of that.”
“Can’t,” he clicked his tongue. “You already put the image there. It is permanently implanted into my mind. It would take an erasing to rid me of it,” he smiled.
“That could be arranged,” I grunted. He laughed at my exasperated look.
Trying to change the subject, I get us back to the original question. “I’ve got to get up. I have some dream-walking to do. God only knows what the council has been up to. We have to make our move,” I cleared my throat, hoping to sound strong. “I’m ready.”
“All right then. Let’s get you ready.”
As I was leaving the safety of my room, I overheard Mallory and Holly talking in hushed tones. “She’s been sleeping all day,” Mal said.
Lance looked at me grinning. “If only they knew what you really were doing in there,” he waggled his brows suggestively. I shoved my shoulder into him, drawing a grunt from his throat.
Before they saw us, Holly said, “this isn’t going to work.”
Lance rolled his eyes. “They clearly have forgotten how capable a sorcerer I am.”
I laughed. “Nobody can accuse you of being modest,” I said, grinning.
“Touché.”
Both girls looked up at us. Mallory’s forehead was wrinkled in concern, while Holly practically scowled. She’d been off ever since the last dream walk. I knew it was because she wasn’t over what Lance had done and he had yet to apologize, but that didn’t give her a right to be a bitch to me. I’d done nothing to her.
“You two need to talk,” I said looking back-and-forth between Lance and Holly. “The tension is so thick in this room; I can barely breathe. Every single person in this cabin needs to have their head on straight and I’m not going to dream walk until you two work out whatever this shit is between the two of you.”
“What? You mean the way he used me,” Holly spit.
