Dreamscape (17 page)

“Why are you here?”

I clasp her shoulder and run my hand along her arm to her
fingers. “I couldn’t stay away any longer, Mel.”

She smiles. “You’re the only person who has ever called me
that.” Unexpectedly, her expression darkens. “Where have you been? Why did you
stop calling me here?”

“I couldn’t…considering our circumstances had changed. I
wanted to. You have no idea how much I’ve wanted you.”

She buries her face in my neck, and I pull her closer,
whispering my hand over her damp hair. Soon, soft sobs escape her. “I’m afraid,
Seth.”

My body stiffens. She should not know of my other form
here. I choose to ignore the name she calls me. “I’m here. It’s okay.”

She pulls away from me with tear-stained cheeks, her eyes
bright, a sad smile playing on her mouth. “It’s never going to be the same
again, is it?”

I swallow around a ball of regret. “I had hoped it would
be. I’m sorry.”

She shakes her head. “Why are you still pretending? I know
who you are. I know what you’ve done.”

My stomach muscles bunch up as if she has just kicked me.
“What do you mean?”

“The mask. Why are you still wearing it?”

I get Seth’s reasons for coming here like this, but it
makes my heart hurt to look at him now. Jason is dead to me. He has to be for
me to survive this ordeal. I still don’t know much about the Dreamscape, or
even who I will be dealing with when I become part of Seth’s team, and my
feelings for Jason can’t possibly help me adapt to my new life.

He flinches, no doubt at my question. If he can’t even
explain why he is here like this then I’m probably right that he hoped to lull
me into believing he and Jason are separate people again. I know better and
nothing he does from this point on will ever get me to believe differently.
It’s not that I don’t care about Seth. I do now, but the feelings I had for
Jason will not serve me anymore, if they ever did.

“You have to understand,” he says, finally. I narrow my
eyes at him. What’s he still hiding? “I’m trying to make your transition
easier.”

I stand up, gazing down on him the entire time. “Don’t do
me any favors, and don’t call me here again until you’re willing to be straight
with me.” I turn to go, but his soft touch on my arm makes me hesitate.

When I look at him again, Seth stands before me in all his
scrumptious, nearly naked splendor. This is the first time I let myself
acknowledge that he is hotter than Jason. Just slightly, but there it is. Not
only that, Seth is a real man. The difference hasn’t been easy to handle.

He gives me a confident smirk, as if my face is a billboard
to my thoughts.

Ice coats my veins. What if he can read my mind? I’ve
considered it before. Even in his realm, he has magic. Here, I doubt he has
even one limitation to what he can do. Would it really make a difference? I
have nothing to hide from him.

“I will follow your wishes,” he says with a slow bow of his
head, as if he is making a solemn pact with me again. His stuffy mannerisms are
spooky sometimes.

I glance away to the sparkling water, so close to where we
stand. Needing a real distraction from the man standing next to me, I decide to
take a swim. The weird thing is that each time I come here, I’m already wet.
Unfortunately, I have no recollection of having been in the water. The hypnotic
power of the waterfall thrums in my ears and the slight breeze raises
gooseflesh on my arms, making me more eager for the warm depths of peace. It’s
been too long since I’ve slipped through the pool, too long since I let myself
relax. I need this as much as air right now.

The crystalline surface reflects the rugged cliffs above
until I disturb the image with my entrance. I glide under the water, kicking
until I’m in the middle of the pool.

Nothing obstructs my view to the smooth rocks that line the
bottom, and instead of hindering my vision, the water intensifies the colors of
things.

Sound closes me in a cocoon of reflection, stilling my
runaway thoughts. This moment is the most restful I’ve had in days, and I soak
it up until I’m nearly whole. I ride the ebbs and flows of the current, letting
my muscles release long held tension.

I wish I could stay in this peace forever, so I linger
until my mind has eased of worry.

When I finally allow myself to focus on my surrounding again,
light glints off something that rests on the pool floor, between a couple
stones, making me curious. Not needing a breath yet, I curl inward and slice
through the clear liquid, keeping my eyes focused on the glimmering object. For
some reason in my alternate world, my lungs can take a full twenty minutes
without air. Even in my dream state, I realize this is absurd for a human who
is very mortal, but it feels natural, as if I’m part mermaid. Shoving that
thought away, I push back the impulse to check myself for gills.

The shiny object comes into view, and my fingers clasp the
cool metal band. I pull it out of the silt, which clouds my vision for a moment
until it settles back down through the rocks.

I kick for the surface then head for shore, the gold object
held neatly in my fist.

Seth’s still sitting there, watching me. I heave a sigh,
not about to get out of the water now. Stopping when I’m waist deep, I let the
wide cuff rest in my hand to study it. The thing is probably large enough to
slip around my bicep. The intricate designs carved into the metal remind me of
the scene depicted on the humungous wardrobe in my room. It’s pastoral with
trees and rolling hills, from what I can make out. There’s something partly
visible peeking out from behind a tree. It’s large and maybe even furry. I
still don’t know what it is, yet I am now aware this is significant in some
weird way.

Seth’s presence surrounds me before I can move away. When I
look up, he’s standing right next to me, yet I didn’t hear or feel any evidence
of him having joined me in the water.

“What have you found?” he asks, inflecting what sounds like
real curiosity in his tone.

Still a little skeptical, I glance at him to see if he is
lying. I’m not exactly sure why I think I can discover such a thing, but I try
anyway. His expression tells me a whole lot of nothing, so I shrug inwardly and
say, “Looks like some kind of cuff.” I have no idea what else to call it and
he’s not being very helpful, so why do I feel like an idiot for stating the
obvious?

He flashes me a grin and gives a solemn grunt. “Could very
well be.”

I shove his arm. “Stop making fun of me.”

“Was that what I was doing?” he says, surprisingly serious.
The only way I know he’s not is because of the almost imperceptible tilt to his
lips.

“You know exactly what this is,” I accuse.

“Is that so?”

My jaw juts to the side in irritation. “Stop answering me
with questions.”

“I can’t be certain,” he says. “But I think it is a gift.”

“What?” I say in surprise, only realizing afterward that I
still sound dumb, so I add, “Isn’t this is supposed to be your domain? If you
don’t know what this is, we’re in trouble…and why would I get a gift from a
pool?”

His full lips pull down in a frown, while his chest lifts
on a deep breath. An amazing amount of warmth radiates from him, which
unexpectedly makes me shiver. What surprises me more than this usual reaction
to him is the fluttering in my belly at his nearness. Is it this place, or is
it Seth’s presence that takes my fear of him away?

I should not be surprised by Amelia, yet she manages the
deed on a regular basis. I did not expect her to affect my realm as much as she
has. If all goes as planned she will be able to unlock the gateway to the
Netherworld.

“Ms. Amelia Blake, if I am right, you just found the first
component to the key that will end my curse and set you free.”

Her smile stretches wide while her green eyes dance with
light. “Really?”

“We’ll know more when we find the other components.”

“But that was easy. I didn’t do anything.”

I grasp her hand and she curls her fingers around mine.
“You did enough.”

This joy in her should be her natural state. One day,
perhaps, she will be able to be herself. One day, perhaps, I will be able to
love her the way she deserves to be loved.

The task I have set for her is nearly impossible, but she
has just shown me she is capable of conjuring impossible things. She is my only
hope for escape. She is also Earth’s only hope for redemption.

For one so young, she considers more than most, even those
who have lived for centuries, even those who have lived for millennia. Her
questions show the depth of her thoughts. They also make me laugh. If anything,
she is entertaining.

I take the cuff from her slender fingers, purposely
brushing my skin against hers. For the second time in so many minutes she
shivers. I hide my smile. Her body tells me more than her words could ever
deny. Since I’m already close to her, I slip the cuff over her wrist and slide
it slowly up her arm, letting a finger trace her skin. Once it glides past her
elbow I press it together. “Perfect fit,” I tell her. “Made for a queen.”

Her brows furrow as her gaze lowers to the cuff. When she
looks back at me, her lips purse together. “Yeah, I have a feeling you could
make this thing fit anyone.”

A laugh shoots out of me. Being as gentle as I can, I slide
it back down her arm. When I attempt to put it on myself it sticks just above
my wrist. “Care to restate that?”

With a feeble shake of her head, she laughs. “I meant it
would fit just about any woman, and you know it. You’re the opposite of
feminine, so you do
not
count.”

I smirk at her, smug settling into my heart. “Well, that’s
good to know.”

She lowers her gaze to the object in my hand, no amount of
flirting left in her features. “It’s awesome I found the first piece of the
key, but why does that scene keep showing up on stuff?”

My heart jumps. “You have seen this depicted before?” Sweat
drips down my back from the mere thought of what this could mean. At best, she
has already begun the process of finding the key, but I hardly thought she
could conjure a map. At worst, it is a sign she can manipulate the Dreamscape.
Either way, it is a good thing. It won’t do me any good to assume she has more
power than she does.

“Uh—yeah, it’s, like, on my wardrobe plain as a polar bear
in the jungle.”

I have never noticed a depiction on her wardrobe. A sudden
desire to march into her bedroom overtakes me. Being near her in the
Dreamscape, although amazing, cannot compare to having her truly in my arms.
She fits perfectly against me, and I ache to have her there for good, for real.

Knowing her like I do, I cannot allow myself to give in to
my urges just yet, so I think of a plan that will permit me to be near her
while fulfilling my need to train her.

It is time I take Amelia out of her world. Although she
should not be in any danger, she also should not be able to affect anything in
the world I plan to take her. Even though the world is crumbling, it should
give her a taste of the Dreamscape.

I lift my gaze to hers, letting the moment excite me. She
will say yes and then I will have her. “You know,” I draw out to heighten the
suspense. “I have just the thing to go with that.”

She laughs. “You have just the…thing…to go with a gold
cuff? A woman’s gold cuff?”

“I am very resourceful,” I tell her, then before she can
say another word, I lift her into my arms to carry her out of the water. She
yelps, but I will not put her down now. She is mine, and it is time for her to
understand that.