Page 45 of Loving Nightmares
“I was able to break a god terror’s hold over a group twice now.” I turned to her and held her gaze. “An entire battlefield was released from War’s control before he fled.”
She blinked in surprise. “That’s impressive, Arabella.”
“But it’s not enough to immobilize him.” I motioned towards Saint. “He will be able to kill him if we can do that.”
“Because he’s a god terror.”
“Because I’m Death. I’m the only one that can kill him,” Saint explained.
“I see,” she breathed out. “And why is this so important to you? Why not move here? We’ve evaded War for this long; I bet we could continue to do so. Your family would be safe here.”
“We live at the institute,” I replied. “That is our home, and I am not going to leave it now—and I am not going to leave so many nightmares defenseless, nor the humans. Sure, some may dislike nightmares, but once he’s gone I can guarantee things will be different.”
I couldn’t guarantee that, but it was a gut feeling. After all, it had been decades since the fall. I don’t know why we didn’t realize sooner how odd it was that the hatred was still there and so damn strong. Why it had started intensifying rather than declining.
“What you’re asking is big and would require a discussion,” Jalissa said, finally starting to give in a little. “Even if I did agree to this, it’s not my decision. I’m not a dictator. I can tell the others what you’ve told me, but eachsis metaand their mates have to decide for themselves what is right for them, if they’re willing to leave their children and families for this. It’s possible you will have many who agree to go, but that isn’t something I can control.”
“But you will talk with them about it?” I asked, feeling a surge of hope.
“I’ve been alive for centuries,” she said, looking down at her empty desk. “War is a continuous concern, and it would be a relief to be rid of him. So yes, I will talk to them. Tonight after the festival, I’ll hold a meeting. I ask that you give us the night to discuss it, though. This isn’t something that can be rushed.”
“I understand.” I offered her a small smile. “Thank you, Jalissa. Really.”
“Of course.” Her gaze was heavy, but then she snapped herself out of it, clapping her hands and standing. “Now, let me show you where you will be staying, and please feel free to join in the festivities tonight. Maybe you’ll get a chance to ask some of the questions we haven’t discussed yet.”
As my mates stood, all of them holding their thoughts for now, I arched a brow. “What is the festival for, exactly?”
“It’s a full moon!” She flashed a smile. “We don’t need many reasons to celebrate here.”
After being herefor the past few hours I wasn’t sure they did anything but celebrate in this village. They existed in a pure state of happiness. I loved it, but it didn’t help the guilt that plaguedme, knowing what I was asking of these people. Not that they realized it yet. That conversation was happening later tonight, long after the party.
And itwasa party.
After being shown to a beautiful guest villa with an ocean view, we had rested up for the afternoon, only broken up by the fight Ashur and a few of the others got into. Luckily, this time it wasn’t a physical one—at least it didn’t escalate to that. I had a feeling our hosts wouldn’t have taken kindly to us damaging their villa.
Outside of that, though, I’d taken an amazing nap and had woken up to a meal that had been delivered from the village, accompanied by a note that told us when the celebration began. Once full, we went down to the center pavilion, and I’d been taken aback by how it had been transformed in a few hours.
Fairy lights made of magic floated along every roofline and through the branches of each tree, filling the darkening skies with a starry glow, and a massive bonfire sat where the cage had been. All along the sides of the pavilion were chairs and tables, along with food and alcohol vendors. In front of the chief’s house, though, was a stage where music was being played—not normal music, but music created by three nightmares that seemed to produce both vocals and instrumental sounds from their throats and lips alone. It almost reminded me of the siren mythos I had heard before.
As if the incident earlier had never happened, we were swept into the party. My mates had surrounded me protectively as each took a turn to dance with me on the pavilion before I finally collapsed, my feet starting to hurt just a little bit. I now sat on Blackwell’s lap, watching on happily.
When we had visited Frostford, I had thought it was an oddity—something that wasn’t possible—but now? Well, now I was wondering what changes we could make at the instituteto make it a bit more community- and family-focused. I knew it would never be like this completely, but there were a lot of families there, mostly Class D, so maybe we could make it happen. Heck, maybe it would even result in more people coming to the institute.
“I’m going to grab a drink!” I announced, ignoring Blackwell’s grumble as I stood and walked all of three feet to the booth run by a woman who looked slightly younger than myself. Her eyes instantly lit up, their bright neon green color reminding me a bit of Amun’s.
“Hey, what can I get you?”
I stared at her for a minute, realizing that she was asis metaas well, before snapping myself out of it. I still wasn’t used to being around others like me. “Just some water, with lemon if you have any.”
“Cool.” She poured me a glass before adding a lemon garnish, not questioning my non-alcoholic choice, and looked up at me with curiosity. “You’re from the outside world, right? That’s what everyone is saying.”
“I am.” I nodded. “From the US.”
“Wow,” she breathed out. “I haven’t left yet—my mom is too nervous with everything going on, but I can’t wait till I get a chance.”
“Do you usually go out in groups, or with your family?”
“Usually groups with some of the older members of the community, but a lot of it is about finding your mates, so we have to be extra careful.”
