“Why, is Corbin’s mother out of town?” Arthur said, picking up his own glass.
“Ask me bollix,” Flynn shot back, and downed his glass in one gulp. “That was a terrible joke.”
Corbin sat down on the end of the sofa, picked up his own glass, and tossed it back. He set the glass back down, his mouth twisting into a grimace “I wish it tasted as good as your hot chocolate, Rowan.”
Maeve picked up the last two glasses and handed one to me. Her hand brushed mine, and a cloud of bright thoughts assaulted me, quite out of character. She held up her glass, and it took me a moment to realize she wanted me to toast her.
I clinked my glass to hers and tipped the liquid down my throat. It didnottaste like hot chocolate.
Maeve threaded the four bracelets onto her wrist, turning them to admire the different colors – Corbin’s dark, silky hair, Arthur’s blond, Flynn’s vibrant red. Mine was just a single dreadlock, with a bead on the end. She gulped back her drink, and immediately stifled a yawn. “I hope it’s a better sleep than last night. I was so wound up, I barely got a wink.”
On the couch behind her, Corbin choked, his eyes wide. I smiled at Maeve, but the draught already tugged at my facial muscles, making it a little lopsided. I settled back into the sofa beside Corbin, remembering how bright Maeve’s eyes looked as she rode me last night, how much I wanted another night like that with her.
And maybe, with Corbin, too…
That was the last coherent thought I had before I slipped beyond the veil of sleep.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
MAEVE
The four boys fell asleep first, slumping over the sofa arms, their heads lolling to the side. Flynn was right; Arthurdidsnore, his huge body shuddering with each outward breath.
I longed to move around them, to touch their faces and feel the warmth of their skin, but the draught was starting to work its way through me. My brain fogged over. I stared at the corner of the room, watching the cracks in the lime wash wobble. I tried to lift my arm, but it was like an enormous weight was tied to it.
This is insane. You’ve just taken a drug you don’t understand. You can’t seriously believe you can do magic. Dreams are just the brain’s responses to REM sleep?—
Don’t think about that. Concentrate on where you want to go. Think about the fairy realm…the sidhe…the wormhole across the multiverse…
My eyes fluttered shut, and darkness enveloped me. My body slipped over the edge of consciousness.
I opened my eyes. Bright light poured over me, and it took a moment for my retinas to adjust and discern the shapes around me.
I lay in a bright field of tall, lush grass. Wildflowers of every shape and color swayed in a gentle breeze. The grass wafted over my bare legs, tickling my skin, fresh and light and beautiful.
Why am I sleeping outside? Why am I?—
Then I remembered what I had come to do, and where I (hopefully) was. Slowly, worried that sudden movement might knock me out of the dream state, I got to my feet, and peered across the meadow.
I stood at the bottom of a wide valley. Sweeping forests drew up on either side of me, the high treetops disappearing into dense, fluffy clouds. At the end of the meadow, a series of sidhe peeked out. Smoke puffed from bonfires, and the faint sounds of music and laughter wafted on the breeze.
Okay, the first part of the plan was a success. I was pretty sure I was now in the fae realm. I had crossed the multiverse in my sleep. I could deal with the theoretical physics behind that later. Now, I had to bring my guys with me.
I glanced down at my wrist where the four circles of hair encircled my arm. I unwound the end of the first one, pulling a single hair from the bundle. It was dark hair, wavy and almost black.Corbin. As I unwound the bracelet, I imagined it as a rope in my mind, pulling Corbin from his place flopped over the sofa in Briarwood into the meadow.
“Maeve, you did it.”
I whirled around. Corbin sat on the grass behind me, his face shining with pride. I threw my arms around him, relishing the solidity of his form. He was definitelyhere. I brought him into the dream with me.
“Now for the others,” I tugged at the bright red bracelet. A few moments later, Flynn shimmered into view, a little further down the valley.
“Einstein.” Flynn ran up and embraced me, his grin wide. He pressed his lips against my earlobe. “I wish you were naked, like the other dreams.”
“Down, boy,” I pushed him away, but I was smiling.
So far, so good.
Arthur was next. His blond hair fell through my fingers as the bracelet unraveled and he appeared next to Corbin, dressed in his medieval garb, his scabbard splayed out on the grass beside him, but neither his sword nor knives were with him. A deep crease marred his cheek.
