Chapter 7 #4
I bolt upright, gasping for air and nearly smashing my head into Bastian’s face.
I blink the sleep from my eye and notice he’s standing over me shirtless and wearing only his trousers from earlier, the smooth, tanned, muscular skin of his chest on full display in the dimly lit room.
His hands are on my shoulders, concern etched all over his face. “It was a bad dream.”
I let out a relieved breath. “I-I’m sorry. Did I wake you?” I ask, embarrassed to have woken him with the nightmare that’s plagued me for months.
Fuck. I should’ve known I was spoiled by not having the nightmare the night before.
I realize now that the clearing I had been seeing in the previous iterations of this nightmare was the same clearing I fell into.
I’m not entirely sure how it’s possible that my brain could have created this landscape when I’d never seen it before the other night.
But I know without a doubt after seeing it now, that I’ve been dreaming of this place.
But that revelation does little to ease my nerves.
He sits down next to me on the edge of the bed, and I push myself up to sitting so I can lean my back against the headboard.
“You did, but it’s alright.” His eyes bounce back and forth between mine, searching for something that I can’t tell if he finds.
“Do you… want to talk about it?” The grimace on his face tells me that he’s not typically used to being the person who offers comfort, but he’s trying in this situation. He’s trying for me.
“Not really, no,” I say softly, my voice hoarse as if I had been screaming.
“It’s nothing. A recurring nightmare I’ve had over the last several months.
Sorry again, I probably should’ve warned you.
Then again, I’ve never woken anyone with my nightmares before…
And I was so on edge last night that I never fell into a deep enough sleep for dreaming.
” I hesitate for a moment before I ask the question that I’ve always wondered about.
“Was I… screaming?” On occasion, I’ll wake up with my voice feeling scratchy and raw like it does right now.
He gives me a considering look, debating how much he wants to reveal which only unsettles me further.
“Not at first… You were whimpering, but then you started mumbling something about crossing paths of darkness? I tried to wake you when you started to get more agitated, but you didn’t start to scream until the end there. ”
I didn’t realize I spoke the woman’s words aloud when I slept. “Well, I appreciate you checking on me. I’m sorry again for waking you, I didn’t realize I got that loud during the nightmares. My aunt’s never given me any indication that she can hear me.”
He offers me a shy smile that nearly makes me laugh because of how out of place it looks on this male.
“Something you should know about the Fae, we have excellent hearing.” Excellent hearing?
What exactly did that mean? His face smooths out, taking on his usual seriousness.
“Now, are you sure you’re okay? You can talk about it with me…
if you want to that is. It seemed a bit…
intense.” He’s almost weighing every word.
As if he wants me to confide in him but he also isn’t entirely sure if that’s actually what he wants.
I let out a deep sigh. I’ve not told anyone about the nightmares I’ve been having.
But they almost seem like… more. More than a normal nightmare.
Like they mean something. They always leave me with that looming dread and I wake up feeling that something bad is coming, but I don’t know what.
Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to tell someone about it.
Someone who is all but a stranger and can’t judge me.
Actually, scratch that, he can and will definitely judge me, but I don’t care if he does.
In two days, I’ll never see him again anyway.
Decision made, I take a fortifying breath.
“I’ve been having this same nightmare since the night of my twentieth birthday, ten months ago.
It changes a little bit each time in terms of the words spoken.
But the main features are always the same.
I’m always in a clearing, which I’ve only just realized is actually the one where the portal was—”
“In the human realm?” he cuts in with a furrow to his brow.
I chew on my lip before I answer. “No.” His eyes flare wide.
“The one here in Alinea. I only realized it was the same place during tonight’s nightmare.
And I don’t know how I’ve been dreaming of it when I’ve never seen it before the other night.
” I look down to where my shaky hands rest in my lap, fingers twisting my ring.
“There’s always this pale woman with long red hair wearing a worn nightdress.
She usually says a few words, but I can never make out a full sentence and they’re always a big jumble, so I’ve never been able to fully figure out what she’s saying.
Tonight was the first time I got a more sensible string of words.
” I think back and try to piece together what I remember.
“‘One with heart so pure… cross paths with darkness… light and darkness meet.’ That’s all I’ve got.
” I look up at Bastian when I finish speaking to see what he thinks, and his expression causes my blood to turn to ice in my veins.
It looks as if all the blood has left his face, and his brows are furrowed in concentration.
“There must be more to it than that, but I miss most of it and then she starts wailing and screaming. And then I wake up with this terrible feeling. Do you know what it means?”
He stares at me for a few moments, unblinking.
Besides the thoughtfulness in his expression, he doesn’t give anything else away.
But his earlier reaction doesn’t fill me with confidence.
He finally breaks my gaze and looks down at where his hands are resting on his knees as he sits beside me.
“Liv, have you told anyone at home about your nightmares?” His voice is so quiet, I strain to hear him even in the silent bedroom.
He’s not looking at me, but I shake my head anyway.
“No, I’ve never woken anyone before and they’re just bad dreams, so I’ve never wanted to bother anyone with them.
You’re the first person I’ve told.” I can see that muscle in his jaw twitch as if he’s clenching his teeth. “Why? Is something wrong?”
He looks between my eyes once again, looking for what?
“I think there might be.” My breath catches in my throat.
I mean I know I assumed they weren’t something good, but I didn’t realize until he admitted it that I was secretly hoping it wasn’t that big a deal.
“That woman in your dream… the way you describe her? The hair, dress, her screaming… I’m pretty sure it’s a banshee. Do you know what those are?”
I give a slow shake of my head and study his face hoping he’ll give something away, but he doesn’t. “No, not really. I mean I’ve heard the word before but never actually anything about them. What are they?” I can feel my full body begin to tremble with nerves.
“Banshees typically appear to foretell a tragedy, which alone is cause for concern.” The trembling intensifies with this reveal.
I bring my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around them, hugging them close to my body as he continues to speak.
“But the words you mentioned? They feel oddly familiar to me also. I must have seen or heard them before, but I can’t recall where so I’m not sure what they mean.
I hate to be the one to say this but Liv, I think you might be in danger.
” His face is solemn, and I think I read sympathy–maybe even fear? –in his expression.
His words send a shudder through me. He notices and begins to reach out towards me, hesitating for a moment before he commits to the action.
A gentle hand lands on my back to rub soft circles, in a gesture I assume is his attempt at comfort.
If I’m completely honest, it works. The touch lights me up inside and the warmth of his bare skin as he slides just a bit closer works to stave off the shivers.
I find myself leaning into his touch further and savoring the closeness, inhaling that intoxicating scent of him.
I begin to feel the prickles at the back of my eyes.
Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. I try to take deep breaths, hoping to calm myself down, but each one comes out shaky.
“Liv?” I look up to meet his gaze and spot the concern in his eyes, which causes me to lose the fragile control I had over my emotions.
A sob bubbles out without my permission.
He’s instantly beside me, so close our thighs brush.
His hand on my back continues its motions.
“Hey, it’s okay. We’re going to get you home and then you should be okay.
It’s more dangerous for you to be here. Maybe that’s what all this was about—you stumbling into Alinea.
The wisps leading you.” His voice is soft, softer than I’ve ever heard it.
I offer him a shallow nod, but I’m not so sure I believe things will be better when I get home.
I’ve had these nightmares for ten months, why would they stop now that I’ve fallen in and out of Alinea?
Does he think that for the last ten months, I was destined to end up here?
That it was all planned out by the Fates?
I’m not sure how long he comforts me like this but a glance out the window tells me it’s still dark but there’s the slightest peek of light starting to make itself known at the horizon. It’s nearing daybreak.
“You should try to get some more sleep. We’ll have a long day of travel ahead of us,” he says as he starts to rise from the bed.
I can’t say what comes over me to say what I do. My hand reaches out to grab at his wrist before he gets too far. “Will you—” I drop my hand from his wrist. “Never mind.”
Bastian places a finger under my chin tilting my face to meet his gaze. “Will I, what?” His face is almost kind.
“Will you stay with me?”
“Of course,” he answers without hesitation.
I slide to the far side of the bed and make space for him to lay down next to me.
He settles in flat on his back, the only part of our bodies that touch is the occasional brush of his arm against mine.
His constant presence is a balm to my frayed nerves, and I can feel myself starting to drift off to sleep.
“Thank you,” I say softly before I succumb to the pull of sleep.