Sweet Dreams

by J. Clarice

  “That asshole,” Jayden scoffed. “As of right now, nothing. His ass is in the dog house.”

  A snort burst from Scarlett. “What’d he do?”

  “I caught him getting comfy with another Dreammare. Needless to say, I was pissed.”

  “Oh… is he your partner?”

  Jayden shut her mouth and let a few seconds pass. “No, he isn’t.”

  Scarlett noticed the change and dropped the subject. This wasn’t one to push.

  They stayed silent the rest of the way each lost in their thoughts. Soon, they approached the grey ring that hid the Dreammares Refuge.

  Upon stepping inside, their eyes landed on Cain. He stood in the middle of the field that was in front of the buildings Scarlett had first walked through. Beside him were two males she recognized as the guards.

  Cain held himself tall in his black as night armor and Scarlett found her gaze stuck to him like a magnet. It perfectly hugged his lean muscles and butterflies erupted in her stomach as her eyes met his.

  ‘Crap.’

  Scarlett’s cheeks heated as Cain’s eyes followed her movement. They shone and he knew exactly what her eyes were doing. She warmed at the thought but lightly shook her head. She came here to focus and nothing more.

  She moved her sight to Liam who was at Cain’s side. His white hair was shortened to his scalp on the side and longer on the top. Extra metal adorned his blackened yellow armor and on his shoulder was a partially carved wing that lifted. Liam kept his eyes locked on the person beside her. She glanced at Jayden, who stoned her face and paid him no attention. Ignoring her obvious uninterested expression, he kept his sight locked.

  The girls stopped a few feet away from the trio.

  “Jayden.” Cain acknowledged her before moving to Scarlett. “Scarlett, this is Liam and Trevor. They will be assisting in your training with Jayden.”

  Liam acknowledged Scarlett with a nod of his head while Trevor stepped forward and extended his hand. His armor was a midnight blue that complimented his dark brown skin. His eyes were an exotic dark blue and Scarlett sharply inhaled at the eye contact as she shook his hand. His black hair was buzz cut and drew attention to his sharp face. Trevor dipped a smile.

  “Hey.” She softly greeted with a smile back. Cain stepped forward and the two quickly released hands. Trevor moved back and gave Cain his space.

  “The three of you fall back, I need her by herself.” Cain’s heated eyes locked on Scarlett and her breath caught as the rest retreated to the far left.

  She heard Jayden huff as they moved farther back. Glancing at them, Scarlett saw Jayden with her arms crossed and Trevor stood between the troubled love birds.

  Returning her attention to Cain, Scarlett’s palms grew sweaty as she awaited his next move. “What are –?”

  “Quiet.” Cain cut her off.

  Scarlett snapped her mouth shut as she realized what he said. “Excuse me?”

  “Did I stutter?” Cain circled Scarlett with his hands clasped behind his back. “You heard exactly what I said.”

  The hairs on the back of her neck rose and she rolled her shoulders as she inhaled.

  “You’re here because you’re a naïve Dreammare with no experience in this world. Even on Earth for that matter. That must suck.” Cain paused. “You went from being a child on Earth to continue to be another one here. Tell me, how does that feel?”

  Scarlett sensed the fakeness in his voice. ‘What’s he up to?’

  “I’m adjusting.” She hesitantly responded.

  Cain scoffed. “Adjusting, that’s an understatement. You’ve been a damn wreck ever since you came here. And you know that.” He stopped circling Scarlett and stayed behind her.

  Scarlett’s face soured at Cain’s words. She clenched her fists at her sides. “It hasn’t been on purpose. Not everyone can be a stone-cold jerk like you.”

  The words lashed out from Scarlett and she pursed her lips. Cain got closer until there was only an inch between their bodies. She jerked forward and held in a shiver. The urge to bolt and press against him conflicted with her mind. All she did was hold herself still as the ball growing within pulled in multiple directions.

  Cain leaned his head down until his lips were behind her ear. “Watch yourself, Scarlett. Seems like something else I’ll need to teach you is respect.”

  His sneer burned and flamed Scarlett. The lust that’d been building cooked with the pent up irritation. The ball within her exploded and she didn’t hold it back. She opened her fist and jerked her shoulders around as she aimed her power straight for Cain. Her power hit the air and flew until it went past the grey ring and disappeared into the Dark Realm. He wasn’t there.

  Scarlett hastily turned back around and ran into a hard chest. Cain. The fire inside her wasn’t satisfied and she bared her teeth. She brought her hands up to Cain and he quickly grabbed a hold of them, securing her wrists. Scarlett twisted and yanked but he wouldn’t budge. He stood calmly and wasn’t affected by her writhing.

  “Let me go, Cain!” She yelled into his face. His jaunting and disgusted look was gone, in its place was a stoned Cain. He gave her no indication of what he was thinking or feeling. None. He simply studied her. Scarlett stopped resisting and peered up at Cain. Her chest rose with each pant and she let her arms go slack.

  Seeing that she was done, Cain titled his head down and took in her brown eyes. She lightly inhaled and Cain’s smoky scent filled her senses causing her to stiffen.

  “Take this as lesson number one. Control your emotions.” Cain let go of her wrists and walked away from Scarlett towards where the others watched.

  Scarlett gaped at Cain’s retreating back. Her hands fisted at her sides and the sting of humiliation coursed through her. She lifted her foot to take a step when she stopped herself.

  Scarlett opened her fist and flexed her fingers. Rolling her head around, Scarlett realized her mistake.

  She failed her first test.

  She wouldn’t let it happen again.

  Eighteen

  It happened again.

  Many times.

  Jayden didn’t hold back when it came to training. As much as Scarlett hated it, she knew she needed it. Due to being half nightmare, Dreammares were subject to frequent violent outbursts. That explained her erratic behavior ever since she came to Ever Realm.

  Everything had its ups and downs.

  “Scarlett, take five,” Jayden yelled from the side. Scarlett and Trevor lowered their hands and called in their powers. Trevor’s power was – surprise, surprise- a midnight blue that reminded Scarlett of deep ocean water. His flowed gracefully and was beautifully controlled while hers still struggled.

  Sweat dripped down Scarlett’s back and plastered her hair to her forehead. They’d been practicing different attacks while Jayden observed and wrote things down. Although she’d been appointed for training, Trevor was the most advanced out of the trio and mainly taught. He was Cain’s second in command while Liam was his third. Jayden was the newest having been here for only two months.

  “Your physical training is going great and you’re excelling perfectly,” Jayden paused and Scarlett knew she wasn’t done. “But, you lack emotional control. Not as bad as you first were, but we got to get that under control.”

  Jayden snapped her head up as her eyes widened. A sly smile spread across her face. “Join me tomorrow after classes, we’re skipping Activities.”

  Scarlett furrowed her brows and opened her mouth.

  “Don’t even ask. You’ll find out soon enough.” Jayden moved her attention back to the guys. “I think we’re all good for today. What about you guys?”

  Trevor nodded. “She’s been progressing well and faster than anyone we’ve seen.”

  Scarlett swelled at Trevor’s words. With a towering height, he was a giant compared to her. Trevor’s build was muscles packed on muscles. How he fought with such ease and fluid movements was beyond her.

  “Trevor, how do you do it?”

/>   He scrunched his face in confusion. “Do what?”

  “Move with all that.” Scarlett moved her head up and down his muscled body. Liam noticed and spit out the water he was drinking.

  “I ask myself that too Scarlett.” Liam laughed out as he glanced at a confused Trevor. Jayden bit her lip to hold in a laugh and silently shook her head. Liam was a slender noodle compared to him. The man was built like the hulk.

  The realization finally dawned on Trevor as his mouth widened into a smirk. He brought his arms up and made a show of his biceps. “Some people are just lucky to be born with it.”

  Liam snorted and threw a shot of his power at Trevor. “Yeah, yeah you lucky shit. Let’s go.”

  Scarlett laughed as the pair walked away leaving her with Jayden. They were something and a complete contrast to Cain. She didn’t know how they’d come to be about.

  ∞

  “Twins are special in Ever Realm and extremely rare.” The Professor glanced around the room when his gaze landed on Jayden and Jasper. “Why, we happen to have one pair here with us.”

  Students turned to stare at the twins. Jasper soaked in the attention and made a show by flipping his hair and winking at the girls while Jayden glared, causing them to quickly look away. Scarlett rolled her eyes at the display and returned her attention to the professor.

  “Dreamer twins are known to share a powerful link between their minds unlike no other. Even stronger than a partner’s link. You see, where one twin goes, the other must follow. They cannot be on different planes.”

  Scarlett glanced between Jayden and Jasper as they both regarded this as old news.

  “It’s been told they could even speak through their minds.” The professor glanced at Jasper who gave a cheeky smile.

  “Maybe we can, maybe we can’t. If I were able to read Jayden’s thoughts, let’s just say I would most likely not be here right now.”

  The class laughed while Jayden rolled her eyes and resumed staring out the windows. Jayden told Scarlett they weren’t able to read each other’s minds, but they could communicate if they needed too. In her words, ‘the only perk to having a twin.’

  The class was dismissed and students rushed out.

  Scarlett searched for Jayden as she walked down the hall. She was anxious as to what she had up her sleeve for today. Jasper was talking and Scarlett wasn’t hearing a word.

  “You’re not listening are you?”

  “Nope.”

  Jasper shook his head and was about to speak when Jayden appeared beside Scarlett. “Hey, you ready?”

  “Yeah.” Scarlett eagerly said.

  Jasper slowed his walk and glanced between the two. “Since when did you guys become friends?”

  “Since a week ago, little brother. Catch up and stop slacking on your gossip.” Scarlett stifled a laugh as Jasper scowled.

  “Now I’m not even bothered by the fact I didn’t know. You’re only five minutes older so take a chill pill, Barney.”

  Scarlett burst into a laughing fit as Jasper narrowly avoided Jayden’s slap. If they weren’t headed somewhere, Scarlett was sure Jayden would’ve done Jasper in.

  “You’ve been spared, Jasp. We’ve got some girl things to do. I’ll see you later.”

  Jasper gave Jayden the finger as he walked ahead and she gladly returned the gesture. Scarlett lightly laughed at the twins.

  “Now, you and I have someplace to be and there’s only a short window, so let’s get going.”

  Scarlett skeptically looked at Jayden’s waiting hand. “What exactly are we going to do?”

  “Shut up and let’s go.” She rolled her eyes and grabbed Scarlett’s hand.

  ∞

  “Jayden what are we doing here?”

  Her question was ignored as Jayden pulled her towards the buildings of the Refuge. The smaller buildings that surrounded Cain’s tower were bustling with Dreammares. They walked about and minded their business, but some stared as if knowing exactly who she was. They most likely did.

  “Don’t mind them, green is a common color for these guys. They’re stuck here while we can freely leave. They wouldn’t blend in as easily as we do.”

  Jayden led Scarlett between the small shiny buildings. They were shops on the lower floor and housed the apartments above it. A big one with purple lights entered their line of sight and Jayden made a beeline towards it.

  “What –?”

  Jayden opened the door and shoved Scarlett inside.

  “A store... you brought me to a store.” Scarlett glanced around at the shirts, dresses, and jeans. They hung from the ceiling, lined the walls, and filled the racks. The place was packed. There were a few other female Dreammares that flicked through clothes. They glanced at Scarlett out of the corner of their eyes before going back to their search.

  “Go look for some clothes, I’m going to be on this end.”

  Jayden left Scarlett before she could get another word out and disappeared into the jungle of clothes.

  “Okay then,” Scarlett muttered to herself.

  As she searched through a pile of dresses, she came across one that caught her eye. She was reaching for it when a hand slammed down on it.

  “So, you’re the bitch?”

  Scarlett’s eyes traveled up the pale hand to icy blue eyes framed by thick black lashes. Her hair was a white blonde, almost like Liam’s but had more color to it. She was tall and slender with muddy brown armor. From her appearance, Scarlett gathered she was probably around twenty-five.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Are you deaf?” She threw the words out and rolled her eyes. “Cain’s new puppy toy.”

  Scarlett's eyes widened and she glanced around for Jayden who was nowhere to be seen. “You must be confused.”

  “Nope, I’m pretty sure you’re his new bitch.” The woman rolled her lips and looked Scarlett up and down. The judgment was clear in her eyes. “It’s because you’re new sweetie, the initial interest will pass. It always does and then he’s back with me at the end of the day.”

  Scarlett’s jaw dropped. “Look, I have no interest in –.”

  She tried to get the next word out but it became lodged in her throat. Her mind turned to mush as if a restriction had been activated. She couldn’t finish the sentence. The ball in her chest was beginning to rage and storm while her temperature rose as her dislike at the disrespect grew. The woman was tripping a wire to a bomb.

  “Cat got your tongue? Everybody has an interest in him, sadly for you, his main interest is in me. You’re just a little too ugly for his taste.”

  Scarlett opened her mouth to snap when a conversation came to mind. It hit her like a truck and everything made sense. Scarlett grabbed a hold of the reins, smoothed out the edges of the ball within, and released her tensing shoulders.

  ‘I’m going to kill Jayden.’

  Swallowing the words that almost slid out, Scarlett sweetly smiled and wiggled her fingers. The signs were all there.

  “Miss, considering you look about ten years older than me, bringing another woman down doesn’t make you look any better. I’m going respectfully remove myself from your toxic waste of a presence and I suggest you learn how to climb out of the mud because, from the looks of it, you’ve been rolling in it for quite a while.”

  Scarlett sympathetically smiled and turned as she left the woman with a gaping mouth.

  She released a breath as she walked away and exited the shop.

  She did it.

  Jayden leaned on the wall beside the door with a smile on her face. “I’m so proud of you!”

  Scarlett furrowed her brows as she confirmed the incredulous scheme. “Why would you do that?”

  “To see your self-control. What you just did, wouldn’t have been achievable by any Dreammare unless they went through months, even years of training. You did it in a week. ”

  Jayden beamed while Scarlett remained confused.

  “Why would it have been unachievable?”

  Jayden was about
to respond when she realized the words she’d have to speak. “I don’t think that’s my place to say.”

  “Jayden, please, no one tells me anything here. One way or another, I’m going to know.”

  Scarlett awaited Jayden’s answer and watched her glance around. She was weighing the decision.

  “You didn’t hear it from me okay,” Jayden hesitated. “Cain is your partner. Hearing another person talk that way about their partner would be enough to drive a Dreammare mad. It comes from the nightmare side which is the most possessive over their territory.”

  The words washed over Scarlett like a cold splash of reality. It explained a lot. A part of Scarlett hummed with warmth at hearing it out loud, but the other was terrified of what it meant. She didn’t know.

  “How… how do you know?”

  “Things were different between you two. I’ve seen it before when other Dreammares found their partner and you guys were throwing off all the signs. I’m pretty sure even Trevor and Liam know.” Jayden shrugged it off as if it weren’t much.

  Scarlett weakly nodded and tried to collect herself. “We’re partners.”

  Jayden took notice of Scarlett and got off the wall. “Hey it’s not a bad thing, sure he can be a little cold sometimes, but I’m sure you two will come together sooner or later. Nothing needs to come of it right away anyway. You initiate it when you’re ready.”

  “Initiate it?”

  “Scarlett have you not been paying attention during lessons?” Jayden rolled her eyes. “Have sex.”

  ‘Sleep… with Cain.’

  Scarlett froze and her mouth dropped open. “Not happening any time soon. Hell, probably never.” Scarlett waved her arms around. “This conversation is over, I’m leaving.”

  She turned and began walking away from Jayden.

  “Whatever floats your boat and you’re going the wrong way, princess.”

  Scarlett turned around and walked past a waiting Jayden. She grumbled under her breath and looked up at the black space above them. ‘Well shit, I’m Cain’s partner…’