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He raised his eyebrows skeptically before narrowing his eyes; I squirmed beneath his doubtful scrutiny. “You...really didn’t?”
I shook my head and he became pensive, considering my offer.
“I’m not going to lie, my magic has gotten so low that I’m becoming rather desperate. To finally win a few weavings...” He nibbled his lip, deliberating. “You only want to have a chance to see Angel?”
I nodded. “And Iris.”
He fiddled with his dream flowers’ stems. “There’s likely no harm in a single meeting. How long would you allow me to win for?”
I weighed the options in my mind. “One week.” I held up a single finger for emphasis. “But you must follow through on your promise, allowing me not only to see Angel and Iris but to talk with them. If they don’t let me explain, then the deal is off.”
He shrugged. “Fair enough.” Relief softened his previous apprehension. “I really need this opportunity. Thank you, Eden.”
He offered a friendly smile, which I shyly returned. It felt good to have peace between us again, no matter how small. I held out my hand for him to shake and after a moment’s hesitation he reached for mine, pausing before grasping it.
“You have to promise not to steal back the magic I earn.”
My guilt returned, deepening the remorse I felt for the mistakes in my past that had made such a condition necessary. “I promise.”
He searched my face for any sign of deceit before he firmly shook my hand.
My upcoming reprieve from the Weavings I’d grown to hate was like the promise of dawn following a dark night, allowing me enough strength to create tonight’s nightmare. The hope that had been planted in my heart at this first tentative step back towards the light consumed my thoughts, making it difficult to focus. But as usual, the fear for the journey ahead was stronger; it seeped into my nightmare, lending it a strength my chosen details hadn’t been able to give it.
I put the finishing touches on the nightmare quilt and held it up to examine the dream—one of darkness and discomfort, the perfect one to provide Easton with a restless night. I sighed and reluctantly draped it across him, pausing when Caspian reached a hand out, as if to stop me.
“I thought you were going to let me win?”
I raised an eyebrow. “I will...afteryou follow through on your end of the bargain.”
He frowned suspiciously. “How do I know you’ll keep your promise? After all, you’re a Nightmare.”
I flinched at the word, hating it even more now than I had prior to my time with Darius beneath the stars. “You’ll just have to trust me; you have no other choice.”
We watched my nightmare seep into Easton. He squirmed restlessly in his sleep as it consumed him. I tore my gaze away, unable to watch. Despite tonight’s tentative beginning towards the light, I was still very much trapped in darkness. How many more nightmares would I be forced to weave before I found the strength to escape my own?
* * *
I scannedthis morning’s offerings, hoping that there weren’t any nightmares hovering near the recently awoken Mortals...but as usual, luck wasn’t on my side. I scanned the dreams floating around the village square, taking in each of their colors and shapes. Most were grey and murky, signs of the nightmare harbored within, with only a few sprinkles of color to be found.
Unease trickled over me. With every excursion the dreams were becoming fewer, as if the night was gradually eclipsing the day. What was causing the nightmares to become so powerful? I didn’t know the answer, only that if Mother had anything to do with it, that meant she was one step closer to accomplishing her sinister plans, a thought that caused icy fear to trickle up my spine.
It had been several weeks since Mother had last forced me to accompany her to Earth to search for emotions to excavate, causing me to foolishly hope she’d given up on the endeavor...but I should have known better. If she believed there was power available for her taking, she wouldn’t rest until she’d stolen it, no matter how unwilling her accomplice.
My heart prickled at the thought. I couldn’t do this. My time with Darius had stirred life within my previously slumbering conscience, causing my previous reservations towards Mother’s plans not only to grow, but to stoke my desire for the old Eden, still alive within me, to escape.
And yet...as always, I was trapped, leaving me little choice but to comply with Mother’s wishes.
“Well?” Mother’s hardened tone drifted from below. I took a steadying breath before I peered through the branches of my dream-watching tree to see her stern expression looking up at me. “Are there any nightmares?” she demanded.
There were more than enough, a selection that would last for however long Mother saw fit to torment me with today’s dream explorations. I debated lying to her, anything to escape what promised to be a draining afternoon, but my fears of the consequences should she find out forced my honesty.
“There are several,” I said hollowly. “Many more than there are dreams.”
I immediately regretted the admission by the dark way Mother smirked, a look that only increased the apprehension prickling my skin. I shouldn’t have admitted such a thing; now she’d have no dissuasion from continuing down her chosen course...and undoubtedly taking me with her.
“It appears everything is going according to plan,” she said. “Now enter one of the nightmares and find a way to extract the Mortal’s fear.”
The old Eden within me ached to rebel, but I desperately tried to smother the voice of my risen conscience, whispering every reason why this wasn’t a good idea. The voice was only growing louder the more time I spent with Darius, a sign I hadn’t been fully smothered by the dark world I was forced to be a part of. But though I welcomed it, it made enduring the path I was still forced to walk all the more difficult.
