Page 20 of Precipitous Nightmare's Valentine Dream

“However,” he said, “I will begrudge none of my people happiness.”

Did that mean the king meant not to punish him for associating with the enemy? That he perhaps approved of the match?

“I do not understand, majesty,” said Precipitous, recognizing that he should probably keep his mouth shut but seeming unable to do so. “Are you not planning to prohibit this relationship? Stop me from leaving?”

The word sounded foreign on his tongue. Precipitous had taken lovers before, even had a few short-term arrangements with others in the Nightmare Realms. But a relationship? He’d known Luminous only a few nights, yet her existence had torn asunder his entire world.

The king studied him.

“I shall not prohibit your happiness, Precipitous.” He paused, considered his words before speaking again. “You should know your own mind, though, before you commit to a thing that you cannot undo. Would you rather be real or be with her?”

The question startled him.

“I would rather her be happy,“ he said aloud, almost before the thought formed in his own head. The realization twisted inside him.

The king clapped him on the shoulder, flashing a dimpled grin.

“Then go with my blessing, Night Terror,” said the king. “Go and discover what your little DayDream might choose if given the choice.”

Chapter 16

Lumi and the Mad King

Luminous Dream

Lumi walked with the King of Dreams on the sands of a tropical coastline sculpted from ephemeral musings and subconscious wonder. He’d whisked her away from the busy city street where she’d been interrogated by her friends and taken her to this place in the midst of Dreaming where island birds swooped high above and the sounds of reggae music drifted over from a cabana beyond the dunes. The salty tang of the sea blew in on a gentle breeze.

This place reminded her of Bermuda. Of toothpick umbrellas.Of a confrontation in a mortal woman’s bedroom.

They traversed the glittering sands, which shimmered under the king’s bare feet and reflected off the short golden cape he wore over a brilliant white tunic and pants. The lapping of waves upon the shore held a million whispered secrets, and bottles bobbed in the water, each filled with a tiny scroll that revealed a request. Or a poem. Or a lament tossed into the ocean in the hopes that it might be carried away upon the tide.

For a while, neither of them spoke, and Luminous fretted about what her king might say once the silence broke.

“Did you think I would not know?” he finally asked, which did nothing to ease Lumi’s mind and only left her wondering which specific things he knew.

“I apologize,” she began, but he waved a lazy hand and interrupted her.

“For fucking the Nightmare? Or perhaps for interfering with mortal lives? Maybe for going outside the bounds of your official duties?” He stopped, kicking at an oddly twisted shell in the sand with his bare foot, and his voice went dangerously low. “Or are you sorry for hiding things from your king?”

“All of it?” Her voice came out a squeak, but she had to at least try to defend herself. “The thing with Melanie and Gary. It was just a few tweaks, a little nudge here and there. And Precipitous… I never meant to…we met and it kind of happened and…”

“Precipitous,” said her king, turning her lover’s name over in his mouth like he’d bitten something distasteful. “Is that his name, then?”

Oh, no. No no no.

Surely her king wouldn’t use his name to do something horrible? Surely the king couldn’t reach Preci all the way in the Nightmare Realm?

But if Preci’s king also found out about their little tryst, he might toss her lover into the Real World and leave him vulnerable. The Nightmare Realm was known for cruelty and horror. What might their king do to a creature who broke the rules and courted a Dream?

There were so many bad potential scenarios here, and Luminous feared for her strange, lovely Night Terror.

“He’s using you, you know,” said the King of Dreams, his voice deceptively casual as he continued strolling down the beach, casually brushing sand off his lapel. Luminous chased after him, and he led her onto a tall boardwalk overlooking a lush garden sporting every color of the rainbow.In the distance, a cacophony of joyous sounds rose up. The delighted cheer of a crowd. The lilting melody of a carousel. The clacking of a wooden roller coaster.

“I don’t understand,” said Luminous, and her liege shot her a disgusted glare.

“He wishes to be real,“ explained the king, slowing his words as though speaking to a kindergartener. “If he makes you fall in love with him, he can turn real, then abandon you to go live the life he truly wants.”

Luminous halted on the boardwalk, feeling the sharp sting of splinters in her feet. Something in the salty air had turned rancid. Cotton candy left to fester in the heat. A glass goblet of ceviche gone off after too long out of the icebox.

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