Chapter Twenty-Two
Avari
Shadows held me immobile as I twitched and strained against them.
River’s dark hazel eyes fixated on my throat seconds before his powerful hand wrapped around it, pinning me to a tree.
Black veins bulged along his forearm as foam gathered at the corner of his mouth, and he bared his long canines in preparation to tear into my fragile flesh.
His normally warm irises darkened to a soulless coal before the bone in my neck cracked, and I struggled to catch a breath. My lungs burned as I thrashed against his hold. He laughed, enjoying my struggle.
The world blurred, and the ruthless sensation at my neck no longer bothered me; I didn’t even feel it. A haze closed in from the corners of my vision, and I felt the urge to rest my eyes.
My mother stepped out from behind my mate, smiling. Her teeth were drenched in blood, and it slowly dribbled down her chin. She licked the corner of her mouth and…
I woke up panting. My throat still ached where his hand had been.
‘Bad dream?’ a voice sounded.
I screamed, thrashing like a cornered wild animal. First she annihilated half our court, and now she had come to get me.
The witch sat near my legs but fell hard when I started kicking like a madwoman. Nosy hissed, coiling and ready to strike.
‘Heavenly shadows, what’s wrong?’ she yelled, accompanied by the loud thud of her ungraceful landing, just as father burst in looking for danger.
The Lord of the Isles looked as puzzled as Miriam, who lay on the floor staring, mouth wide open. ‘What’s happening?’
My heart beat so fast I could hear it, and I stumbled for words that could accurately describe the absurdity of the moment. The steady thump-thump echoed around me as I clutched a hand to my chest in attempts to prevent a premature heart attack. ‘Just a bad dream.’
‘Chocolate before bed does that,’ father groaned, looking disapprovingly at my dresser. Sure enough, several opened packs of chocolate bars lay scattered there among two cups, one still half-full of chamomile from when I got back after the search.
Maybe disallowing Clara from cleaning here wasn’t such a good idea. Stopping my brain from going on a little tangent, I turned to my concerned family members.
‘Everything fine?’ Anya’s sleepy voice rang out in my mind.
‘It will be once my heart slows down. Miriam almost gave me a heart attack.’
She sighed. ‘Okay. Goodnight.’
‘Miriam, what the hell? You just watch me sleep in the dark?’ I asked, noting she hadn’t even got up yet.
She settled back near my legs, the darkness of the room swallowing the red of her eyes until they looked black—just like River’s in my nightmare. ‘No, I literally just got back and wanted to speak to you, and you kept tossing anyway, so I thought you might wake soon.’
Oh. That was so disturbing. ‘How about you just knock next time? Did you need something?’
Father turned to leave, stomping away and muttering something about a house of horrors.
‘I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you that easily frightened?’ Miriam asked once we were alone.
I dragged a hand down my face, pulling away the stray strands of hair that stuck to my cold sweat. ‘No. I had a bad dream; that’s why.’
Wincing, Miriam stretched before sitting cross-legged and leaning down as if we were about to share a secret.
‘Want me to take them away?’ she offered. Her tone was light, but something in it wasn’t.
The offer made me pause. ‘You can do that?’
A wicked smile crossed her face. ‘Did you even listen when I said I control nightmares? But I can’t put anything else in their place if that’s all you dream of. You won’t dream at all.’
The concept of dreamless nights sounded horrible. ‘Would that affect me?’
‘Not necessarily, but I believe bad dreams help release pent-up emotions. I wouldn’t want mine taken away, even if they’re unpleasant.’
‘Why did you offer then?’ I asked dumbfounded.
‘It’s your choice.’ She shrugged, looking surprised, and I wondered if something was up with her.
‘I will keep them for now; we can revisit this conversation another time if they’re persistent… Are you drunk, Miriam?’
The grey-haired troublemaker shrugged again. ‘Tipsy. Has what you dreamt about bothered you before?’
‘Not really, I honestly have no idea why I dreamt of it. It’s a situation from my past but altered,’ I admitted as my mind wandered to the actual cemetery incident with River. There was no point overthinking it, he thought I was evil back then.
Miriam smiled before lying on her back next to me, braiding her grey waves. ‘Dreams don’t always have a meaning, no matter how hard humans believe so. Honestly, how their unfounded ideas made it all the way to fae lands is beyond me.’
Note to self: the girl was a calm drunk but had no respect for personal space.
Or lost her understanding of it, since she now flailed her arms around me, her pristine manicure reflecting the small light coming from the bedside lamp.
Like a moth, she observed these reflections, enthralled by their beauty.
It was nice, but not that nice.
‘Why did you watch me sleep, by the way?’ I asked.
‘That’s creepy, no? I didn’t watch you sleep, Ava,’ she giggled, switching to lay on her side and facing me. ‘I just jumped back from the search with your mate’s little bothersome brother.’
Huh, interesting. ‘Okay. How did it go?’
‘You’re friends?’ she asked and mockingly gagged, wiggling her eyebrows. ‘With that buffoon?’
Gods. Another conflict between the people I cared for was just what I needed. ‘Yeah, I am.’
She shot up, looking appalled. ‘How? He’s the most infuriating male I have ever met.’
‘That bad?’
‘He insists on embarrassing me every chance he gets.' A soft whine escaped her alongside a barely noticeable burp. ‘And when I blush at his scandalous remarks, he doubles down. Who does that?’
He really must have got under her skin. ‘Ha. Michael does that. It’s how he is. What did he say to make you blush?’
Crossing her arms, she shook her head so much I feared she'd have a concussion. ‘That’s beside the point. I just needed to vent.’
Okay, then. ‘Did he just start antagonising you out of nowhere?’
‘I might have provoked him but only after he started giving me serious puritan vibes. What a freak,’ Miriam groaned, reaching for my cup and downing the chamomile.
Thank the Gods; when I got back, I got rid of the hot chocolate that had stayed there for three days. It started to grow a disgusting, thick layer at the top.
‘Michael isn’t a puritan,’ I assured her. ‘How did you even provoke him?’
‘I called him a boy,’ she cackled so adorably I couldn’t cope.
‘That would do it.’ That innocent and feisty expression of hers made me laugh. So full of contradictions. ‘If I’ve learnt anything about fire males, it’s that they’re ridiculously proud about being caring, but mostly strong and vicious.’
‘So?’ she snapped.
‘How can a boy be caring, strong and vicious?’ I kept my tone calm. ‘Even without the proper understanding of their culture, you basically told him he’s not a man.’
Eyebrows shooting up, my words inspired her. ‘So you’re saying I need to come up with a different name that wouldn’t strike his ego as much?’
‘If that’s your conclusion, knock yourself out.' My words died out a little as she jumped off my bed. ‘Let me know how he took the change of nicknames. When are you going next?’
‘Tomorrow,’ she said excitedly, walking away.
Just before she left I remembered. ‘Miriam, wait. Do you have any repellent?’
‘Like for insects?’ She looked around the room, dusting her long sleeves off as if she were afraid something crawled on her.
‘What?’ I didn’t even know how to react. ‘For men.’
‘Preach, sister; somebody should invent that shit.’
The level of peculiarity in this family was something to be experienced; perhaps it was a dominant gene that clung to every member.
Thank Gods I was spared.