A Dream
Jayce
Iarch a brow as I look down at her; her red curls are dusted with snow, the tip of her nose red, and her cheeks flushed pink, and yet the smile on her face lacks the pain she once used to carry.
“Of all the things I thought I’d see in the Siberian Wastelands, it was not figure skating,” I remark coolly. She smiles slightly. “Don’t fall,” I add before I let go of her.
She whispers a spell, and she’s gotten rid of the blades at the bottom of her shoes.
“Thanks,” she says, tucking a curl behind one of her ears, only for the wind to blow it right into her face again.
“Hmm.” I don’t look at her, but instead at the spot Ahren, the asshole, disappeared from seconds ago. “I came to talk to your brother.”
“I assumed as much. Was it something important?” she asks.
I’m about to say none of your business, but then I remember the conversation she had with Uncle Alejandro earlier.
‘I hated what he did, how he tricked me, how he took advantage of my pain… He doesn’t understand love. I feel as if he hated that more than the Deimos line, because those of the Deimos line love so deeply that even the gods burn.’
Those words replay in my mind, and I want to ask what it would take for her to fucking hate me. What would it take for her to stop looking at me like she still fucking loves me – even if she does.
“Nothing you can help me with,” I answer, knowing I took far too long to answer.
She observes me curiously before she slowly nods. “Ok, I can mind-link him to tell him you wanted to speak to him?”
“No need,” I say, stepping back. I half-turn when she grabs hold of my coat.
“Jayce…”
My eyes flash as I look back at her. “What?” I ask callously, hating the tension that settles between us as I pull free from her hold.
“Thank you for healing me,” she says softly, and then she steps away, going over to the fence where two empty mugs are sitting, half buried in the snow.
Turning away, I make my way back towards the barracks, hearing her make her way a little behind me. I keep my pace slow; it isn’t safe for her to be out here alone, even if she’s powerful.
Her conversation with Uncle earlier made me wonder how her life had been in the Gods’ Realm. When I reach the barracks, I glance back, seeing her disappear into the mess hall. She’s safe now.
I return to my room, removing my coat. I sigh as I drop onto the bed, staring at my hands. There is one thing I can’t deny: since she’s been here, she’s distracted me from the pain that weighs on my heart.
I pick up my tablet once more, staring at the unfinished letter I’m trying to write to Dad. How do you comfort someone who has lost the one person they loved the most? The other half of their soul? I remember the words of comfort I was given, and none of them helped.
I was drowning, and we hadn’t even marked one another. Dad and Mom… Their bond was complete.
Her body… The memory of seeing her beheaded.
I stare at the incomplete sentence on the tablet. Another night gone, and I’m unable to put into words what I want to tell him.
I do want to return to England when I can.
The others have filled me in on how things have been in the short messages they have sent, Carter’s being the most useful.
Renji glossed over the pain; Ares was short and abrupt.
Carter provided the most insight, mentioning the good and the bad.
He’s always been clear with his words, and it shows in his letters.
Then there’s Theo. I’ve still not heard from him, and what he said… That is something that is constantly present in my mind. That it was one of us who killed our mother.
My eyes flash, my wolf’s rage becoming one with my own. Whoever did this will pay. Blood or not.
My eyes snap open when I hear something. I turn my head, listening out for any sound until I realise it’s her. Another whimper.
Is she alright?
Then she gasps, her heart clamouring loudly.
I sit up; it’s not her heat, or I’d have smelt her. Did she have a nightmare?
She takes a shaky breath before she stands up; I can hear her taking deep, steadying breaths.
“Breathe…” she whispers.
These walls are way too fucking thin.
More deep exhales, and then she’s pacing, her heart hammering loudly at times and then settling down for a short while until it spikes again. What happened to get her so unsettled?
What the hell are you doing? Your storming around is disturbing those trying to get some sleep, I say through the mind-link, although she isn’t being that loud.
She pauses, her heart rate spiking as it does every single time I speak to her.
The way I liked it…
I had a dream.
Her and her fucking dreams. They’re never good news, I reply, frowning.
Open your door, please.
I frown as I hear her door open and shut, and then the light footsteps outside of mine. I get up and unlock it for her.
Her eyes flicker over me, and I realise I didn’t bother with pulling on my hoodie, although without my blanket I can definitely feel the chill.
Stepping inside, she shuts the door, and I raise an eyebrow. “Should you be here?”
“I think I’m the only one who should be here,” she counters before she freezes, her cheeks burning, and then she shakes her head. I mask my amusement, refusing to make this easier for her, and keep staring at her, crossing my arms.
She shakes her head, and I take the chance to look her over. Her hair is open; she’s wearing thick sweatpants and an oversized sweater that hangs off one shoulder, and I don’t think she’s wearing a bra…
I look away. I’ve been deprived of sex for far too long, and her coming here in the middle of the night is not going to fucking help anything.
“What do you want, Sienna?” I ask crisply, turning my back on her, but it is her next words that make me freeze.
“I… I was inside the dome.”
Sienna
He turns back sharply. “What?” he asks, his heart racing.
I nod, my own heart refusing to settle. “I…” I close my eyes, trying to make sense of what I saw. “I…”
“Hey, look at me.” His hands close around my elbows, and I slowly turn my attention to him. His touch may have calmed the panic that was bubbling within me, but now that’s replaced with thoughts of him. My mind goes blank, but the butterflies in my stomach are going crazy.
I’m terrified, terrified of what I saw, and I’m doing my best not to hug him and wish I could forget everything.
“Sienna…” he murmurs, and I realise I spaced.
“What did you see?” he asks as he moves me over to the bed.
The room is filled with his scent, and it brings me comfort despite knowing that the walls aren’t any safer than the ones surrounding my room.
But with him here, it’s different; I just feel safe.
He crouches before me, as if he’ll find something in my eyes that will tell him what I’m thinking.
I take a deep breath, trying not to be consumed by the fact that there’s concern there, even if it’s just about the dome. I want to think there’s some concern for me.
“I can show you,” I whisper.
He frowns. “Are you sure you’ll manage that?”
I nod.
“Ok, do it,” he says.
“But magic is more than a little unstable here. I’m going to go get my bag to help me,” I say, about to stand, but he gets up instead, and I find myself staring directly at his crotch as he steps back.
“I’ll go grab it,” he says as I quickly look away, my cheeks heating up again, and I hope he didn’t see that. He leaves the room, and I touch the bed that’s still a little warm.
Sighing, I rest my elbows on my thighs, lean forward and clasp my hands in front of my face. My stomach plummets as a shiver runs down my spine, and it has nothing to do with the cold.
Jayce returns and places my bag down, shutting the door quietly behind him.
“What do you need?” he asks as he unzips it.
“I got it, thanks,” I say softly as I lean down and begin searching through the little glass bottles. I don’t need much, just something to help the flow of magic and to keep it more in control. I usually wouldn’t need anything extra for this spell, but with the interference of the dome, it’ll help.
Once I get the herbs ready and crush them in my hand, I sit back on the bed again, whispering the incantation.
“Where do you want me?” Jayce asks quietly, as if not wanting to distract me.
I don’t reply, but I turn, pulling my legs up onto the bed and motioning to the place opposite me. He takes a moment, and I wonder if he saw my motion, but then he walks past me and sits down, bending one leg while the other one remains stretched out on the floor.
Taking a deep breath, I complete the spell and blow the herbs into the air before I place my fingers to his forehead, sparks dancing through the bond.
He leans closer, making it easier for me, and for a moment our eyes meet, and then he looks down, and my heart fills with dread as the dream begins to replay.
All around me, the dome pulsates, but I continue to walk through it; the warbling is growing louder the further in I go. It’s not just a thin barrier; it continues for a while, and it’s as if the further in I go, the harder it’s becoming to breathe.
Gods…
I drag my legs forward, forcing myself through the crushing density until, just as I feel my body beginning to fail, I stumble into clear air.
I gasp and fall to my knees, sucking in big gulps of air. That’s when I realise there is no snow here.
The land is barren and stripped raw, as though life had once touched it but is now torn away. Dark stains mar the ground in sprawling patterns that twist my stomach with unease. It’s almost black, but I’ve seen those brown stains before, the marks of old blood.
Looking up, I see the sky above is not actually sky but the roof of the dome, from inside. It’s shifting, glowing dully.
The power here is immense. It feels wrong, sickening even. It presses against my skin, unease suffocating me.
I look around, realising exactly where I am. I’m inside the dome.