Chapter 10
Nell
The dream begins in fragments, like trying to catch smoke with my hands.
I'm floating in warm water. No, not floating; someone holds me. Cool arms around my waist, a soft body pressed against my back. The murmur of the sea in my ears. And a voice, so close I can feel lips brushing my ear.
“I was waiting for you.”
Sabina?
I try to turn, but the dream shifts before I can see her face. Now I'm lying on something soft; I think moss, and there's a warm weight on top of me. The scent of earth after rain. Of wildflowers. Lips that brush my neck, leaving a trail of heat.
“I have centuries of experience; let yourself go, you won't know anything like it,” someone whispers, and I recognize the musical cadence of her voice.
Sylara?
I want to touch her, but my hands won't respond. Small vines coil around my wrists and hold me against the ground, immobilizing me so she can do whatever she wants with me. I shouldn't like it. But I do.
I like it too much.
The dream shifts again. Now it's hot. Very hot. I'm sitting astride someone's legs, and strong hands grip my waist. I can feel muscles under my fingers, burning skin against mine.
“Let yourself be consumed by my fire,” a deep voice murmurs next to my ear.
Althea?
Every time I try to focus, every time I try to see a face, touch something real, the dream falls apart like sand between my fingers. Fragments of sensations that never complete themselves. Lips that almost kiss me. Hands that almost touch me. Bodies that almost...
And then, all three appear at the same time. But not like before, not like separate fragments. Now they're together, surrounding me, and I can feel the four elements intertwining: water, earth, fire, air. It's too much. It's perfect. It's...
“Is this what you want, little elemental?”
The voice doesn't belong to the dream. It's masculine. Familiar. A voice I'd like to forget forever.
Kaelisar.
“Or is it what I want you to want?”
The dream shatters like glass hitting the floor.
“Nell! Wake up already!”
Colt's voice brings me back to reality. I open my eyes, disoriented, frustrated.
“What the fuck are you doing, damn it?” I yell, sitting up abruptly on the bed, while I cover myself with the sheet and push the sweaty hair from my forehead.
My whole body seems to vibrate, still trapped between dream and reality. Under the sheets, I feel the wetness between my legs, a physical reminder of a dream that seemed too real.
“Fuck, what a bad wake-up you have. Good morning to you too,” Colt jokes with a smile from ear to ear. “Since when have you taken up reading?” he asks while examining the magic book.
“Will you leave it where it was? And get out of my room, I'm naked,” I shout, still covering myself with the sheets, as if Colt could guess what I've been feeling.
“What the hell is wrong with you this morning, Nell? You're acting super weird. I thought something was wrong with you, you were making strange noises.”
Great, strange noises. I prefer not to think about what kind of strange noises.
“I'm fine,” I lie. “Just a weird dream.”
