“A few losses we can manage, but every year, the number of graduates decreases, and every year, the dark entities become stronger, killing off more of our warriors.”
“We do the best we can,” my brother replies, shrugging off my comment.
“And what if it’s not enough?”
Raith scratches the back of his neck. “Look, we only have to hold out until we fulfill the prophecy.”
“And close the fold?” I give him a dark look. “It’s been centuries and still no one knows where the dark entities are coming from. The fold doesn’t exist. The creatures materialize out of nowhere, and we’re only just keeping them at bay. What if it’s centuries more before we figure it out? What happens when our numbers dwindle to extinction? Immortality can’t save us from the Xalgrith.”
“Yeah, but it damn well helps,” Raith points out, though his usual humor feels forced tonight. I know he’s been thinking about this, too. “Look, it’s not somethin’ we’re goin’ to figure out tonight. For now, let’s get through another graduation. You should get some rest.”
“I am resting,” I murmur.
A spark of humor brightens his eyes again. “By rest, I mean actual peaceful sleep where you’re not tormenting yourself in your dreams. Turn it off, brother. Just like you turn off the dreams for me.” He nudges me with his shoulder, and then he’s gone.
I remain standing by the water. Sometimes, this is where I’m able to think best, but now, all I can do is stare into that darkness, that black void beyond the ocean, and wonder whether one day soon we’ll all be swallowed by it.
Lifting my arm, I rub a hand over my face.Fuck.I know Raith is right. I need rest.
I’m about to follow his advice and force myself into a dreamless sleep, when a sparkle of light catches my eye, somewhere out to sea.
Frowning, I squint, not sure if I’d imagined it, but no.There.A small wooden dinghy with a single light strung up on the tiny sail, floats in the ocean far in the distance. The boat rocks from side to side, small and insignificant against the vastness of the black water.
How?This is my dream. The boat isn’t my creation, and even from here, I can sense what it is.It’s a damndream pathway. An opening that leads to the human realm.Fuck.
I stand there, staring, wondering if my mind has somehow been compromised. If all the years in the shadow realm have finally left me shattered beyond repair. But that light… Warmth radiates from it. Even from here I can feel it, and I know it’s not coming from me. But a human can’t create shadow pathways, and certainly not in my dreams, so again I ask myself the question:How?
I should leave it alone. With my power, I could easily block the connection and banish the intruder, but curiosity makes me foolish. Unable to resist, I create my own vessel, traveling out there on the water. The ocean calms for me, growing deathly still, and when I near the boat I stop. Visits to the human realm are only allowed when absolutely necessary, and indulging in the dreams of mortals isn’t permitted. But the light that’s suspended to the sail grows brighter, illuminating the entrance to the shadow pathway on the boat. Shadows writhe around the portal entrance. The light begins to flicker erratically, a chill cutting through the warmth that reaches out to me, and a scream of agony tears through my dream. I act on instinct, not sure why I have the sudden need to answer whoever is calling me…
Stepping from my own boat, I enter the pathway and slip into someone else’s dream.
The connection is raw and fragile, and I doubt the human even knows they have created it. It shouldn’t be possible, but the moment I enter her mind, I realize what has happened.Only one can change our fate, beware the bond of your beloved mate.The warning from the prophecy rings loud and clear in my head, and I know I shouldn’t be here, but I stride forward anyway. Because it’s my mate who has reached out to me. I can feel it.
Whatever nightmare she’d been having, her mind calms now that I’m here, chasing away her demons.
I tell myself I simply need to know what she looks like. The female who could destroy us. Our beloved mate. I delude myself into thinking I’ll keep to the shadows and simply watch her, and once the night is over, I’ll use my power to banish her from my mind permanently. But then, I see her. All sunshine and laughter. Her long, pink hair frames her pale face, and she giggles, sitting on a bed with red roses that decorate the quilt. She’s not screaming anymore, but instead, she’s laughing at something. Her laughter fills me with warmth. Like a beacon, she pulls me to her, drawing me out from the shadows and leaving me exposed.
Her heavy gaze takes me in, and she doesn’t feel like she’s going to be our destruction. No, the little human feels like our salvation.
“Finally,” she tells me, her plump lips curving up at the sides.
“Finally?”
“Yeah,” she answers, her eyes bright. “Finally, I’m going to have a good night. I can already tell.”
There’s something about the way she says it. Darkness haunts the edges of her dreams, waiting just outside the spot of light where she sits, and I can feel the nightmares are waiting. The moment I leave, they’ll come for her.
“What makes you think that?” I ask, genuinely curious. “I could be your worst nightmare yet.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you are to some. You definitely have some scary vibes going on,” she says casually with a grin. “But I’m hoping tonight you’ll be my big bad who will keep the others away.”
I scan the darkness. “The others?”
She sighs. “Just…stay with me for a while. Please?”
I take a step back, almost coming to my senses. This is a mistake. One that is probably going to haunt me. The moment I move back, the nightmarish creatures stir, getting all excited as they wait for me to leave. Anger rises in me at the idea that they would dare harm my mate, even in her dreams.
My. Mate.
