Page 28 of Forsaken Dream
“I did.” My chest felt tight.
“If the human male didn’t hurt you, why did we find you barely alive?” Tyler saved me from falling apart in front of them, his one-track mind, or maybe his anger, still stuck on Josh.
“I was sick.” Three pairs of eyebrows crawled up in disbelief. “I couldn’t explain it either but the night after … you left”—Because I didn’t want to say I kicked them out and they’d still managed to save my pathetic ass—“I developed a fever, and I had no strength to move. My magic was gone …” Trailing off, I reached for my power, and it surged to greet me like an old friend. “It’s back.” With a content sigh, I grinned at them while glancing from one somber face to the next. “My magic is back. Suck on that toe, Proto, you jerk.” No one cheered with me at my exclamation.
“Apart from the fever, tiredness, and loss of magic, what else did you feel?” The angel prodded, his upper body leaning forward expectantly.
“Who is Proto?” Tyler asked, and a jolt of panic stabbed me.
I wiggled in his arms so he could let me go, but he didn’t. The stone tightened around me until my body was caged to his chest. Which answer did I want to give them? The symptoms of my sickness which disappeared like they never really happened when I woke up in Tyler’s arms? Or explain to the males what kind of a failure I was as a Seelie heir, and who Proto is? The decision was very easy to make. Sickness it was. That was a safer subject to discuss.
Or so I thought at the time.
“The dreams started when I went to bed that night.” Jostling around, I tried to get more comfortable since I couldn’t escape the gargoyle. They saved me, so I owed them that much at least.
“Dreams about what?” The silent incubus inched closer now, a thoughtful look in his amber gaze. Vaser still seemed defeated, with that sad slump to his shoulders and a droopy look tugging on his features, but whatever I said perked him up. Not by much, but it was progress I was willing to take.
“Nothing consequential if you ask me.” My shoulder bobbed in a shrug.
“Let us be the judge of that, dove.” Angelo soothed the sting of his words with a slight tilt of his lips.
“Why do you even care?” Agitated that I had the need to explain myself and feeling guilty for many things when it came to the three of them, my mouth pursed petulantly. “Vaser and Tyler told me they felt the call to find me and protect me the first time both of them barged into my house, but they never explained why. You healed and decided to stay along with them, too, and here I am explaining myself when I’m the one with no answers.”
“I will tell you everything.” Angelo rushed to stop my tirade. “Just please, dove. Tell us what happened to you and you will know everything I know.”
“We,” Tyler snarled, making the angel grimace.
“Everythingweknow,” Angelo corrected, a “happy now?” expression on his angelic face as he looked pointedly at the gargoyle, who was grumbling ambiguously at my side.
“I was running through hallways with gold glinting everywhere. The glare burned my eyes. It was like a damn labyrinth.” I paused when the three of them gave each other looks that sparked my annoyance yet again. “What?”
“Can you describe the hallway better?” Angelo’s blue irises were so intent a shiver slithered over my spine.
“The walls were white.” A frown tugged on my forehead as I wondered why this was so important to them. “Whiter than any other white I’ve seen actually, now that I think about it. Gold accents framed the edges, swirls like sparkling clouds above my head.” The angel had a fond smile as he listened, which confused the hell out of me. “And marble. The floor was made of mirrored marble that reflected all the gold.” Angelo hummed in contentment at my words, a faraway look entering his gaze.
“And the labyrinth?” Vaser’s timbre broke the silence that descended.
“I said labyrinth because I don’t know what else to call it. There were no dead ends, just one long hallway twisting and turning with no end in sight.” For the first time since I kicked him(and them) out—and after I almost choked him to death—the incubus smiled. “Does that mean something to any of you?”
“What else did you dream about?” Angelo asked, deflecting my question. My glare told him I knew exactly what he was doing.
“It was really cold; I remember that because my breath was misting in front of my face as I ran. Not just tiny puffs, but small clouds were forming from it obscuring my view.” Wrapping my arms around my middle, I hugged myself, grateful for Tyler’s steady presence grounding me. “I think that’s when the fever started, maybe that’s why I was so cold in the dream.”
The gargoyle chuckled, earning himself a scowl from the other two males.
All of them were weird.
“As I said, I was running in the long golden hallway, freezing my butt off, but the four silhouettes I was chasing were always a step ahead of me. That’s it.” The words came out in a rush, so I didn’t have to explain what shade of black the forms were. The way this was going, I’d start pulling my hair out soon.
All three males stiffened as if they were having a full-on silent conversation without me. I could see it in the way they kept glancing at each other, and the tension in the air was almost palpable.
“Four silhouettes?” Obviously the angel had been appointed as the spokesperson for the trio. “Are you sure there were four and not three?”
“Yes, Angelo, I’m sure,” I drawled, my lips pressing tightly together. “Why is that dream so important, anyway? I had a fever, so it’s from the delirium induced by my brain being fried. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“The reason you were like that was not really a fever as you keep calling it, Echo.” Angelo rubbed a hand over his face, and I noticed how tired he looked. Lines creased the corners of his eyes and his lips tugged down at the corners. They must’ve stayed awake all night looking after me. Another ping of guilt stabbed through me. “It’s what happens when you deny a mate bond.”
Panic surged through me. Had they figured out who I actually was, or that my father had already promised my hand to the Unseelie prince. Were they going to drag me back home? Or would they blackmail me into doing whatever they wanted in order for them to keep my secret? That arrogant jerk was not my mate, and my mouth opened to argue the point, but Angelo waved my protests away with a flick of his hand.
