A toddler couldn’t even fit through it without catching themselves on the fire!
Thwack! The fifth podium is destroyed.
How am I going to do this?!
A loud grinding rumbles beneath me. The branch has caught up. The podium sways from the pressure. I throw out my arms to either side of me to keep myself balanced. Nothing works. I’m either going to set myself on fire or be thrown down and impaled by a thousand thorns. Either way, I will die slowly and painfully.
Just like this entire shitshow circus, there is no other way out. Right as the podium crumbles under the weight of the thorny branch, I leap forward. The world becomes fire and ash around me. There’s a snap in my ribs as I land on the edge of the last podium. But it doesn’t matter, because my entire body is on fire. I pull myself further up onto the podium, the relentless sounds of the branches following close behind me.
I’m done for.
The nightmare has won.
And now I’ll never avenge my mother.
I’ll never be able to tell the world about the coven of vampires that kidnaps people and uses them like cattle. Vegans would no doubt have had a field day with my article.
Wait…
These aremynightmares…
Everything I’ve thought about until this point has become a reality. This torture is just an illusion in a place that makes all of your dreams come true.
I close my eyes and think of the ocean. A vast, endless blue sea that gleams beneath the sunlight. Crystal clear water and white sand. Fuck it, let’s throw in a rubber inner tube and a cabana boy. I open my eyes just as the branch snaps the final podium. As I fill my head with nothing but thoughts of that clear ocean, the wood beneath me disintegrates and my body goes into freefall. Warm, salty air kisses my skin and I can’t help but smile as I plummet beneath the waves.
15
Knox
The second Danni’s bodyhits the water that her brilliant mind conjured, the lights dim, signaling that her training is over. My chest feels fit to burst with pride since she finally figured it out. So many potential Familiars fail at this stage. Humans have grown more stupid as the decades pass. Familiars are meant to entertain both us and the humans we choose to feed upon. If they can’t raise the levels of the brain chemicals that produce the high-quality blood we need, then what’s the point?
Of course, my mate would excel at this. She was designed for me, formypleasure, which only makes this arrangement that much fucking harder.
Don’t get attached. Keep her at a distance. Don’t let them know.
I sneak a glance at The Five, noting their sneers. Of course, they never wanted her to succeed by figuring out that she is the one in control. They don’t like me, a truth they don’t hide, so thefact that Danni made the grade probably has them more jealous than ever. Their chosen Familiars did well enough, but the scent from the crowd around me is something truly salivating. Danni did that.
The bond inside of me threatens to wage a war right here, right now. Another reason why no one can ever know what she is to me. Vampires take far too much pleasure in destroying another’s happiness. Taking Danni from me would provide them with the ultimate punishment. After all, I spent decades letting the magic of our realm wither into dust.
I watch the surface of the water, waiting for her to break through, but there’s no sign. Not a single bubble. Panic crashes against my bones in waves, chilling them down to a temperature I’ve never felt before. Egor chortles beside me, his hands clapping as he watches for her, too. He’d love that, wouldn’t he? Egor would love for her to die.
No, not today.
Exhaustion from extending my power to her is already beginning to fog my mind, and my usual sharp senses feel as dull as a battered blade. Yet it doesn’t matter. Not when it comes to her. Danni has to survive, at least long enough for me to get her out of here. I rise from my seat and ignore the stares and questions that follow as I make my way to the stage. This could blow it all up. Destroy our bond that I’ve worked so hard to keep secret. But it’s as if my mind has no control over my body; my conscience isn’t in charge here, only our connection is. I hesitate at the edge of the stage, seawater lapping at my feet. It’s dangerous to enter someone else’s dream without their consent. Drowning isn’t the worry here, but getting stuck inside the dream is.
Fuck it.
I dive into the crystal blue water and search for Danni. The sea seems endless, but not in a terrifying way. More like a never-ending tropical paradise, with the warmth of the abyss and gentle taste of salt. I feel the water thicken, as if to slow me down. So, this is how the dream might trap me here.
Just as I’m about to change tactics, I spot her floating peacefully just up ahead. There’s no rocks, coral, or sea life here. The dream feels unfinished, like her brain couldn’t quite come up with the full scene before she jumped. As I get closer to Danni, the bond thumps from the proximity. Her eyes are closed and she’s still. So still that I’d believe she was dead if it weren’t for our connection. But I’d certainly know. It would mean an unbearable, painful existence for me, and so far, I was still functioning despite the exhaustion.
I reach out, electricity surging as I grip her arm. Danni’s eyes spring open as I pull her body against mine. Her arms wrap around my neck, a smile curving across her perfect lips. A real one, not the murderous one she usually gives me. The interaction freezes me, and thoughts of saving her from her own dream float away. It feels incredible to be this close to her. A few air bubbles escape her mouth as her body magnetizes itself to mine. Danni’s so close I can almost taste her. I want to taste her.Needtoo.
All the oxygen in my lungs dissipates at the sight of her. The axis of my world shifts gloriously in her direction. Being this close isn’t enough; I need more. I need to carve my name into her flesh and brand her as mine for the world to see.
Her lips are inches from mine; it would be so easy to claim her down here. Yet my damn moral compass refuses to take her like this. I want her to want me, for real. Not just because she’s inside a dream and thinks there won’t be any consequences to her actions down here.
My tongue slides out of my mouth and brushes her lips. She shudders within my embrace. Danni tastes just like I thought she would, like an addiction. A toxicity created just for me. She’sboth my dreams and nightmares manifested into human form. A human who wields a stake as sharp as her tongue. My biggest weakness, yet my greatest conquest.
