Page 28 of Loving Nightmares
The wall.The wall of energy that had blocked me before was standing as a barrier.
Squinting my eyes, I tried to peer past it, and I thought I saw small beams of light breaking through, so I raised my hand. I expected a lot when I went to touch the wall—pain, mostly, since it was obviously a defensive measure. What I didn’t expect? To be wrenched forward through time and space, fast enough that it felt like my brain and body would explode from the pressure.
“Holy shit,” I whispered as I slowed and got a good look around. I was no longer floating in space; I was floating over a town covered in lush jungles, lit only by the stars in the sky. It was absolutely beautiful, and the sound of the ocean crashing on the nearby shore reached my ears.
Then, as if noticing my presence, beams of light began to radiate up through the roof of each of the small homes scattered through the land. Strong, vibrant beams of magic belonging tosis metasthat hadn’t been hunted to extinction. They werealive.
Alive and in hiding.
Unfortunately, I was only there for a moment—just long enough for my magic to absorb what it needed to—before I was ripped away violently.
My eyes snapped open.A thin sheen of sweat coated the back of my neck, and I was flushed from the exertion of the moment, my breathing rough. I blinked, feeling dizzy as Cy appeared in front of me, crouching down and cupping my jaw. His lips moved, but a buzzing in my head from my magic was the only thing I could hear.
My magic had gathered so much more information about our travel than I would have ever expected. A map made of light beams appeared in my head, and with sudden clarity, I knew exactly where we needed to go.
“There’s a community,” I said, my voice rough and uneven. All of my mates were now crowded in the room with me, each looking on in concern. I could even feel their worry through our bonds.
“There’s a community of them,” I tried again, my brain moving a million miles an hour. “Ofsis metas.A remote island off the coast of South Africa.”
Zain whistled, sounding impressed. “That’s a journey.”
“It is,” I admitted, “but I think that’s where we need to go.”
Despite their concerns,my mates agreed. An hour later, after explaining our plan to my dad and Irina, we were preparing to leave.
“I need you to stay here,” I said to the god terrors.
Eros, Keres, Slater, and Eve all stared at me like I’d lost my mind.
“Ireallyneed you here.”
“Because you don’t want us involved?” Keres narrowed her eyes. The woman seemed very quick to assume the worst and be defensive, and it only added to my assumption that she’d spent most of her time alone or in the presence of War and Hate.
“The opposite. I understand that War is off licking his wounds right now, but his forces are still at large, and the minute he feels up to it, I have no doubt he will come back here for revenge. I’m hoping to stop him before that happens, but I won’t be able to leave without knowing there are people I trust here to protect my home and my family.”
Keres’s gaze softened at my words, and Slater nodded as Eve said, “You know we will.”
Eros sighed dramatically in a tone that didn’t match the affection in his gaze. “It’s much more pleasant than I expected here. I don’t mind staying, especially if it means beating War in the long run.”
Drive was sitting nearby, talking to my dad about something, but at Eros’s words he looked up and a bit of relief filled his gaze. Maybe he didn’t want to go back to Chicago. Maybe the solution to their problems would be finding somewhere new to start over? Thoughts for later.
Although it was literally none of my business.
“Moresis metaslike you would help,” Keres agreed. “The burden shouldn’t be completely on you, so I will stay as well.”
I breathed out in relief. While I didn’t mind the burden being on me, I did understand what she was saying, and more thananything, I didn’t trust my new magic enough to try and fix all of this on my own.
We needed help, and I knew exactly where to get it.
“Awesome.” I looked down when I felt Mykia brush against my leg. I crouched down, running a hand over her head. “Hey, you. Are you going to stay here?”
Mykia growled and shook her head rapidly, making me smile. I wasn’t against bringing her, but we did need to talk.
“You want to come with us?” I asked, and she barked happily. “Okay, I think we need to talk about this. First of all, can you shift, or do you prefer this form?”
She paused at the question, staring up at me for a long moment before barking again and running away—or I thought she was running away. In reality she was just circling around my ankles. My mates were silent, watching our interaction with interest. Everyone was.
“So that’s a no? You can’t shift? Or you can shift?” I asked as she stopped and stared up at me.
