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ZARA
Ruby is in a terrible mood. She’s been stomping around the house all night. All I can get out of her is that Ezra is a dick and something about mud and his stupid face. If I’ve learned nothing about Ruby in my time living with her, it’s that the topic of Ezra is fraught with dangers. I don’t bring him up unless I want to get snapped at. Ruby occasionally mentions something about him. When she does, I let her spill out all her annoyances. I always nod to show I’m listening, but otherwise I don’t engage.
Rhys lets Ruby and me into his apartment after a short knock on the door, as if he’s been waiting for us.
“You know you can just come in. You don’t need to knock.” Rhys smiles down at me, brushing a kiss over my cheek as I move past him.
It’s just going to be me, Rhys, Ruby, and Lena tonight. Everyone will be together tomorrow when we try to break Anthony’s bond, so there was no reason to have them all stand around and watch me dream walk. If I thought I could have convinced Ruby not to come, I would have tried, but I didn’t even bother.
As for Lena, I know that Rhys wants her here in case something happens. I don’t know what he’s imagining, since so far, my dream walks have been fairly straightforward. But that’s another fight not worth having. If it makes Rhys feel better to have Lena here, then so be it.
It’s past midnight when I finally settle into the corner of the couch. I don’t have to lay down to do this, but I will fall over if I’m not supported. We learned that when I went for a dream walk while sitting on a chair one night.
Rubbing my elbow at the remembered pain of smashing it against Ruby’s coffee table, I shift back into the cushions. “Go find something to do, so I don’t feel like you’re staring at me while I’m out of it.”
I’ve dream walked while they’ve all watched before, and while it’s possible, it’s not the most comfortable. Ruby and Lena drop into spots on the other end of the couch, pulling out their phones and messing around on them. Rhys ignores me, not like I expected anything else. He lifts my feet and sits where they were just stretched out, settling them in his lap. Then he closes his eyes and lets his head fall back. His black hair has a little curl to it, and it always makes him look perfectly disheveled.
He hasn’t shaved since this morning and the shadow on his jaw gives him a sexy, almost dangerous appeal. He’s far too good looking. I don’t know how I got so lucky that I get to touch him and kiss him.
“I’m not really looking, but if you want this to happen sometime tonight, you’re going to have to stop drooling over Rhys and actually go on your walkabout.” Ruby’s eyes are still locked on her phone when I turn to give her a dirty look.
Rhys’s eyes are open and twinkling at me when I look back at him. I roll my eyes and then close them, determined to block out everyone. Including my own distracted mind.
I’ve gotten pretty good at sinking into dreams. I still have to focus, imagining the person whose dreams I’m targeting, but it’s not nearly as hard as it was in the beginning. It only takes a few deep breaths before I’m dropping into a dream.
I know where I’m at immediately. This is a place that’s more familiar to me than I’d like. There’s a golden throne draped in flowers, vines, and thorns that’s sitting in the center of a raised dais. Sitting on the throne, one leg casually thrown over the arm, is Colton. He’s wearing the finery of the Summer Court. A heavily embroidered vest that in the real world would have taken some talented drudge weeks to finish, is unbuttoned over a fine lawn shirt. I don’t know what pants he’s wearing because I’m too distracted by the woman at his feet. His hand is fisted in her violet hair and he’s shoving her bobbing head down over and over.
Why? Why is he always having sex in these dreams? I hope it’s because he can’t get any in real life and this is his only option. There’s something about the woman at his feet that is bothering me. I can’t see her face, but her violet hair is too much of a coincidence.
“No,” I murmur, a shudder rippling over my body. I close my eyes, not wanting to see any more of this atrocity, and focus on changing the scene. Instead of changing our location, I change the woman. When Colton screams, the sound high-pitched and frightened. I open my eyes and nearly chuckle at the sight. Instead of the woman at his feet, there’s now a ten-foot-tall monster in her place. One that looks very similar to one of the aliens from the movie of the same title that we watched at Ezra’s a few weeks ago.
I bet he doesn’t want that thing slobbering all over his dick. Before Colton can do anything about the monster’s appearance, I wave my hand and the thing disappears. With another twitch of my hand, the vines on the throne come to life. They wrap around Colton, squeezing around his chest, arms and legs, and rendering him immobile. He still has his pants open, so I make sure the vines across his lap are nice and thorny.
Stepping out from the shadows, I approach the tied-up Fae. I’m ready to get this over with and done with.
“Are you here to tie me up and finish sucking me off? I prefer your sister's brand of fight, but I’m sure I can make you scream so prettily.”
My face hardens, and my eyes narrow. The vines around his waist tighten, and I smile a little when Colton yelps in pain. I bet those thorns are really digging deep now.
“You’re going to stop talking unless it’s to answer my question.”
Colton opens his mouth, likely to utter a smartass reply, but I hold up my hand and compress my fingers to my thumb as though I’m physically pressing his lips together. His mouth snaps shut, and I try not to gloat too much at the feeling. Colton spent decades terrorizing the servants of the Summer Court. I’m not going to stoop to his level and torture him, but it is nice to see him put in his place for once.
“How did I get to Fairy?”
Even though I’m the one in control, Colton still smirks up at me. “Someone brought you there. Obviously.”
“Be more specific. You said you knew all the details. You’re going to share every last bit of information you know with me.”
The smug smile is replaced with a snarl, but between my dream walking abilities and Rhys’s enchanted penny, Colton has no other choice but to answer.
“Your mother decided she didn’t want anything to do with the Axis Anthony tried to build. She helped the mother of Anthony’s child escape Wild Haven, and she couldn’t go unpunished for that kind of insubordination.”
“So, what did he do?” There’s a dark edge to my voice, pure rage tainting my words. Fuck Anthony, Colton, and all the pieces of shit just like them. That one man thought he could control all these other people’s lives. Why do people think they have the right to do things like this?
“You weren’t meant to be born that night, but Anthony has all kinds of magic. He helped things along.” Colton laughs as if any of this is amusing. “As soon as you were born, he took you out to the Fae Woods. There’s a thin spot in the veil between our two worlds there. He was determined to open the veil. What better sacrifice than a newborn covered in the blood of her generations removed Fae mother. When that wasn’t enough to open the veil, Anthony sliced your little baby palm and let your blood flow. What a disappointment you were straight from birth.”
Colton’s jabs don’t even register. All I can think about is my poor mother. To have her child ripped from her, to never see me again. I know Ruby said she was a bad mother, but of course, this messed with her mind. How could it not?
