Page 28 of Whispers of the Dryad

Ash stiffened when I asked, and I wished I hadn’t said anything.“What about her?”Ash asked.“Just… I don’t know.Sometimes, dreams can be like memories.Your brain conjures these images because… I don’t actually know why.Does that not happen to you?”

“I haven’t dreamed about her,” Ash said tightly.“And I’d prefer shit to stay that way because I don’t want to see her again.”He was getting angry.That wasn’t what I’d meant to do at all.I didn’t want him to get worked up.“I ask because I’ve been dreaming about Oscar,” I said, trying to steer the conversation away from Ash’s ex.He narrowed his eyes.“What about him?”

“I keep dreaming that he’ll find me, but he’s in prison.Cat told me.He can’t find me… right?”

“Not with you hidden in the vale and him just human,” Ash said simply.“Yeah, that’s what I thought… maybe it’s my human brain doing what human brains do.I dream a lot about my parents, too.”

Ash only nodded without answering me.“Do you think that’s what it is?”

"I asked when the silence stretched thin between us, and I didn’t feel any better about the answers he’d given me.“What?”Ash asked.Had he not listened to what I’d said at all?He was distracted and grumpy, and I didn’t know why.“The dreams.Do you think it’s just my own trauma playing tricks on my mind, or is there a reason I’m dreaming about him finding me all the time?”

“I don’t know,” Ash said.I sighed.It wasn’t what I’d hoped to hear.I wanted Ash to tell me I was safe.I wanted him to tell me that he’d make sure nothing happened to me.I didn’t want to have to ask him for that kind of reassurance.I didn’t want to sound pathetic, like I was panicking for no reason.I wanted it to come from him.It didn’t.“What’s wrong?”I asked.“With what?”Ash asked.“You’re very distracted,” I said.“Did something happen?”

“What would have happened?”Ash asked.“Stop it.”I was getting irritated.“I don’t know what would have happened; that’s what I’m asking you.”My voice was snappy.“I’m not trying to be rude here, but you’re not really giving me much to work with.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” Ash said.“I want you to say anything that’s the way you usually are.I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you’re so weird.You’re just like you were at the beginning.”

Ash looked at me, and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.Lately, we’d been so open with each other, able to talk and laugh together, and our bond had brought us closer and closer together.In the beginning, he’d been closed off and kept me at arm’s length, and that was how it felt now.“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”I asked softly.“Maybe I can help you feel a little better.”That was what I’d wanted from him, but not everyone was very good at reaching out and communicating.“Nothing’s wrong,” Ash said.“I have a lot on my mind.”

“Tell me,” I said.Ash opened his mouth like he wanted to talk, but instead, he shook his head and shut his mouth again without saying anything.“I have to go.”He stood.“Where?”

“I have some personal things to take care of.”

“I thought you wanted to hang out,” I said, confused.“Yeah, it was really good.”He turned around and left the cabin, leaving me behind, confused and lost.What had just happened?I’d hoped he could tell me my dreams weren’t a problem.Or tell me what we could do to prevent Oscar from finding me if they were.Instead, Ash was closed off and difficult, distant, and impossible to reach out to.Was it something I’d done?Was it something I’d said?I couldn’t imagine anything had gone wrong between us—what could go wrong in a place where there were barely any pressures at all?God, I missed Earth and the home I knew there.At least when things were weird, I could explain them somehow.Here, I had no idea what was going on or how things worked, and I felt very far out of my comfort zone.I wanted to be with Ash, but it was a daunting idea to think about spending the rest of my life here.I guessed it was the same for Ash, thinking about spending his life on Earth.Was our relationship strong enough that we could overcome something like that and be happy anyway?Or was our relationship something that only existed here because I couldn’t leave and the magic made it what it was right now?A couple of days ago, I’d been sure I wanted to be with Ash, no matter what the cost.The Ash I’d known until now, that was.

The Ash I’d seen today, the same Ash I’d met at first, was a different person, and that changed everything.It was just an off moment, though, right?It was stupid of me to hinge a big decision on a mood swing, if that was what it was.I just had to wait for him to come to his senses, and when he was in a better mood, I’d ask him about the dreams again.I just hoped to God—or whatever gods and goddesses here could change things—that the dreams weren’t something I needed to be worried about before I could get my answers.If Oscar really was looking for me and getting closer to finding me, we had a lot more trouble on our hands than before because he’d had some kind of magic on his side.

ChapterTwenty-Six

Ash

“There you are,” Dolus said, appearing next to me while I stomped through the forest.I was pissed off, and I had no idea why.“I’ve looked everywhere for you.”

“No, you didn’t,” I pointed out.“Yeah… I didn’t,” Dolus said with a grin.“I knew where to find you.What’s going on with you?”

“What do you mean?”I asked.“You look like you’re in a shitty mood.”

He wasn’t wrong about that.“It’s nothing.”

“Is it?”Dolus asked.“Or does it have something to do with Lorraine’s ex-boyfriend?”

I glared at Dolus.“What the fuck would you know about it?”

Dolus shrugged.“I don’t know much about her ex, or yours,” he admitted.“But I know everything about exes and the jealousy that can come with it.”

I frowned.“What are you talking about?”

“Do you think I’ve lived a loveless life?”Dolus asked.“If you’re alive for an eternity, you find all kinds of ways to dedicate your heart and have it ripped out again, over and over, since time goes on forever.”

“Hmm,” I said.“She’s pissing you off,” Dolus said.“It’s not her,” I answered flatly.We walked in silence for a beat before Dolus pushed in again.“Come on, talk to me.What are friends for?”

I still had no fucking idea why Dolus thought we were such close friends when that hadn’t ever been on the table.I’d opened up to him a little, I guess, but that was before this strange feeling had started accompanying him, making me feel like something just wasn’t right.“It’s complicated,” I hedged.“Is it because he’s still in the picture?”Dolus asked.I glared at him again.“He’s not.That’s the point of him being an ex-boyfriend.”

“Sure, sure,” Dolus said.“But she still dreams about him.”

And there it was—the reason why I was so fucking pissed off.Lorraine still dreamed about the asshole who’d made her life a living hell.She was here with me, and I did everything in my power to protect her, and she dreamed about someone else.I knew it was fucked up of me to get upset about it.It wasn’t like she was having good dreams about him, dreams that she held onto or instilled positive, loving emotions in her, but that didn’t change the fact that he was still on her mind in some way or another.“It hasn’t been that long,” I said, defending her.“It’s only been a couple of weeks, and she’s human.”

“She has weaknesses,” Dolus said, nodding.“That’s not what I mean.Time for her is different, since there isn’t so much of it in her life, so the fact that he’s still on her mind just a few weeks after she saw his true colors, when he’s been in her life for so long…” I shook my head, stopping myself from saying anything more.Despite wanting to be tight-lipped about Lorraine and what I felt about her, Dolus had managed to get me talking, and I’d already said more than I should have.

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