Chapter 25
ARIANNA
“Ineed my clothes, Gaelan,” I laugh. He just smiles at me before stepping back and letting me take in the view of his realm.
I’ve never been to the underworld—well, I guess not in this life.
What I’m seeing is not what I expected, though.
I thought it was going to be all fire and brimstone—red, hot, and full of black caves, but this is…
“It’s beautiful,” I say out loud in complete awe.
The ground is composed of cobblestones, silver-grey in color, with a glitter-like coating that makes them shimmer.
All the houses appear to be made of some kind of dark blue brick, the roofs thatched with white straw.
It’s dark, but each home is lit up with a silvery glow of some sort.
My eyes lift to the sky, and I gasp—it’s dark blue, and no stars can be seen.
Still, there are silver auras that make it resemble the Northern Lights, but they are even more beautiful.
It’s almost as if someone has sprayed glitter into the sky.
The little specks move, like it’s been caught in one of those old-fashioned lava lamps I see in vintage shops back home.
I walk forward and see a row of shops, all still open, and people walking around buying things.
“Welcome to my home… Illis Lands.” He sounds so proud of where he lives, and I can see why—peace when I thought there would be rage—if it wasn’t for the sky, we could be topside.
I turn to him and smile. “Is it always this busy at night?”
“It’s always night here, Ari,” he says before taking my hand and leading me down the street. “This is the Dream Realm. A place where nightmares come from.”
As he walks us past shops and market stalls, all the people turn to look at us—they all have the same blue eyes as Gaelan—some bow, others call Gaelan “my lord” with a loving grin. The respect here is high, and Gaelan doesn’t ignore them; he speaks to everyone and shakes their hands.
“My lord.” A woman comes over with a basket of cakes.
The lemon in them makes my stomach growl.
She looks at me, and her eyes shine with emotion.
“My lady,” she addresses me. “I’ve made you some cakes, lemon, just how you like.
” She holds up the basket for me to take, smiling. I reach in and take one.
“Thank you, and please, call me Ari.” I say, never in my life has someone called me ‘my lady,’ and it makes me feel a little uncomfortable.
She bows, still holding the basket. Gaelan leans down and whispers in my ear, “She made them all for you; she wishes for you to have them.”
I smile at the lady and take the offered cakes. “Thank you so much. I’ll probably eat all of these at once,” I laugh.
“You always do,” she says. “Welcome back, my lady.” She bows again, before stepping back. I frown at her words and look up at Gaelan, who leans down and kisses me softly.
“We can talk more later, Ari, after the tour.” He says it as if he knows my thoughts.
Not really knowing what to say, I just nod and cast my eyes over the crowd gathered around us, all of them have huge smiles on their faces and gifts in their hands.
One man steps forward holding a scarf. It’s woven so delicately, gold and blue intertwined, making it shimmer in the light.
There is a dragon stitched on the front of it; its body is white, and its eyes are the same bright blue as everyone else’s here.
The body of the beast moves as the man shifts the scarf in his hands; it almost looks as if it’s coming alive.
His handshakes with nerves as he hands it to me. “My lady, this belongs to you.”
“Thank you, but this can’t be mine,” I say, confused. I’ve never owned a scarf like this in my whole life. Why would it belong to me?
“I fixed it for you; I’ve been holding it ever since…” His eyes widen in horror; the stranger’s voice trails off, almost as if he has said far too much.
Gaelan steps forward and gives his shoulder a soft squeeze. “Marcus here makes all my armor and some of my more official clothes. He had also made this for you.”
“Gaelan, I don’t…” I look between the two of them, and I don’t remember this scarf or this man who made it. I don’t want to hurt his feelings, so I do the only thing I can think of—I reach forward and take it from him. “Thank you! It’s beautiful.” I say, making sure to give him my best smile.
He smiles widely and bows to us both. He looks to Gaelan before speaking. “Your order is also ready; I will come to the castle in a few nights to drop it off.”
My eyes flick up to Gaelan, stunned. “You live in a castle?” I ask him. Gaelan looks down at me and smirks. “Yes, my Rose.” He chuckles. “You look shocked.”
“I am, I saw you more as a penthouse kind of guy.” I can’t help but laugh.
“I have one of those also.” He winks at me, of course, he does.
Why would a lord have anything less? Gaelan looks down at Marcus.
“Thank you, Marcus.” Gaelan grins and retakes my hand, leading us further down the road.
More villagers give me gifts, and by the end, my arms are overflowing.
One of Gaelan’s house guards comes and offers to take them and deliver them to me later.
We get to the end of the road, and up ahead is what can only be described as a fortress of a castle.
It reminds me of a horror movie castle, the one at the beginning of a movie that is shrouded in darkness.
It looks terrifying at the same time. I can’t help but feel the safety that wraps around my heart and makes me excited about exploring every inch of it.
From here, it looks black, but I instinctively know it’ll be the darkest of blues, just like the houses in the village.
Several towers reach so high into the sky that I wonder how they are constructed. There’s a river of water around the base and a boat at the end of a short dock. I step forward, and I get hit with a wave of lavender so strong that it makes me gasp.
Gaelan chuckles and pulls me closer to the dock. “This is my river, it’s full of the magic from the Dream Realm. When a new daemon is born, they’re given a vial filled with this; it’s a dream serum. They are only given one, which will last them forever.”
“Where is yours?” I ask him. Stepping closer and kneeling, I reach my hand out to touch it, but stop when Gaelan grabs my arm.
“Careful, Ari, anyone who falls in will never wake up.” He helps me stand as he continues, “I’m the lord of this realm, the magic runs through my veins. I can dream walk, whenever and wherever I please.”
“Daemons bring nightmares?”
He grins again, and power radiates off him.
“I’m a daemon, Ari. I bring nightmares, dreams in the form of manipulation and contempt.
I’m evil by blood, just one of the lesser kinds of evil,” he says while watching me, waiting for me to run.
He’s different here. The darkness is creeping into him slowly, like this place is feeding it.
I know not all daemons are evil, just as I know not all angels are good.
I turn to face the castle and smile. “Please tell me you sleep in one of those towers?”
He laughs. “We only sleep up there sometimes.”
I frown at him. “What do you mean by ‘sometimes’?”
“Later, Ari, let’s get you settled and meet my family.”
He helps me into the boat, and I sit on a cushioned chair. Gaelan sits opposite me, and the ship begins to move, making me giggle. “Does it move on its own?”
“Unfortunately, not. Reveal yourself, Gurt,” Gaelan commands, and a huge looking man appears, he has black and white markings that twist together like roped knots all over his body, his muscles are thick and hard looking.
He looks like one of those guys from that Mr. World muscle contest Mekhi is always watching; his eyes are black, framed with long white eyelashes.
He waves and chuckles darkly, his voice a loud boom when he speaks, “My lord. My lady.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard a voice so deep in all my life. He sounds as if he could snap your neck with a click of his fingers, and he would love every second of doing it.
“Gurt is the guard of this river; you only cross if he allows you to. He’s also the only one, besides me, that can swim in it.”
Gurt gives me a sly look before vanishing again.
“What would happen if I ever fell in? Would I never wake up?”
“We’ve never tested that out, Ari, and we never will,” he says with a pointed look.
I nod at his words. Considering that a small vial will last a daemon forever, I’d hate to think what a teaspoonful would do. I find myself curling in slightly, a new fear of falling into a river rushing through me.
Gaelan leans forward and takes my hand. “You will be fine, Ari. Gurt is always present, and those under my protection are safe. No one will ever be forced to cross this river without a boat. Those who are not welcome here and try will meet an awful death.”
“I know. I just don’t understand how something so calm can be so deadly.”
“There are many things like this in our worlds,” Gaelan replies, the hint of danger in his eyes making me shiver with pleasure.
The boat comes to a stop, and I look up at the large castle, feeling nervous yet excited to see where Gaelan lives. To see what his life is like. The anxious part is because I feel like I’ve been here before.
Gaelan reaches and helps me out of the boat and onto a small wooden dock; it’s not a huge one, and I can imagine only a few people get to step foot onto it.
I was expecting the pedalboat to sway with us moving, but it sits perfectly still.
Gurt reappears and grins at me, showing a complete set of razor-sharp teeth.
He bows slightly and then dives off the boat and into the deadly river.
I watch as the water ripples, with no sight of Gurt, only for him to reappear a few feet away.
Laughing, I say, “You weren’t kidding when you said he’s a guard. Does he always swim in it?”