Dream King by Elise Knight

32

“That was...That was...”

“Fucking hot?” I helped him with his words as he held me in his arms, the pair of us coated in a sheen of mingled sweat and spent desire.

“I was going to say it was the most beautiful thing I have ever known, but fucking hot encapsulates my feelings well also.”

I nuzzled against him, letting my head rest on his chest above where the scars from the nightwalker were still red and visible. “I don’t know. I like your words too. they are much more poetic.”

“Your poetry comes from more than mere words, Ana. It is in everything that you do.”

I sighed, blissfully happy, and traced one of his scars with my finger. The skin had knitted together really well, and the redness was beginning to dissipate. With the way he healed, he would be back to normal in a few days. “Flattery will get you everywhere.”

“Is it always like that?” he asked, his voice low. I could tell it had been on his mind a while.

“Sex?” I thought back to all the lackluster sex and orgasms at my own hand with David and shook my head. “I can promise you that sex has never been like that for me before.”

“No? Please tell me I didn’t hurt you. I heard you screaming out, but you said not to stop and...I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”

I looked up and held my finger to his lips. “It was perfect.”

He relaxed and brought his hand up to my hair which he ran his fingers through, only adding to my hormone overdosed, blissful, post-sex haze.

“If I thought I’d caused you pain, I would never forgive myself.”

I sat up and recovered my dress from where I’d thrown it and pulled it over my head. He lay back, watching me with his hands under his head. “ I love watching you dress. I love watching you undress even more.”

I stopped. Love? It was a word I hadn’t dared allow myself to say or to think. Not that he’d said that he loved me. He’d said that he loved how I dressed and undressed. That wasn’t the same. Because he couldn’t love me. And I couldn’t love him because nothing good could come of it. I couldn’t stay here, and he couldn’t come to the real world, and I knew with every fiber of my being that I couldn’t live without him, but I did love him. I loved him. Oh, fuckety fuck! What had I done?

A cawing above my head took me from my own thoughts.

“Raven.” He flew down and landed on my shoulder, where he began to hop up and down. “What is it?”

Dream jumped up and pulled his pants on quickly, just in time before Aethelu appeared through the trees, Tour on her shoulder.

She came to a stop when she saw Dream hurriedly getting dressed.

“I do apologize, Your Majesty,” she said, falling into a bow. When she came back up, I saw a slight hint of color in her cheeks. “I only wished to see if you were better after your injury. I see I have come at a delicate time.

Dream grunted as he picked up his armor and crown from the forest floor. She caught my eye, and I swore there was a twinkle of mischief in hers. I couldn’t help the grin that was plastered over my face. It didn’t take a polyglot to figure out what had been happening here only ten minutes earlier.

“It’s not a delicate time, Aethelu. I thank you for your concern. As you can see, I am fine now. Ana’s been helping me.” Despite his words, I could see he was flustered. It was very unlike him.

“I’ll bet she has,” Aethelu quipped. I let out a giggle, but it went right over Dream’s head.

“Is there anything we can do for you, Aethelu?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No. I was in the forest anyway, and I thought I’d come and see how you are. Would you like to come for a walk with me, Ana?”

“Ana stays with me,” Dream said abruptly. “The forest is not safe for her.”

Annoyance rippled under my skin. He’d had sex with me once. Mind-blowing, out of this world sex, to be sure, but that didn’t mean he owned me. “I’d love to come with you, Aethelu.” I turned to Dream. “If Aethelu and I come across any problems, you can summon us back right. You have that telepathy thing.”

Dream strode over to me and caught me by the arm, pulling me away from Aethelu. He spoke in harsh, hushed tones. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking recently. I know you’ve made friends with her, but I’m beginning to suspect there is more to her than she lets on.”

I glanced over his shoulder at Aethelu, who was waiting patiently for us. “In what way? You were perfectly fine letting me walk with her the other day. What’s changed?”

He gritted his teeth. “Nothing has changed. It is merely a thought that has been going around in my mind for a while. It only just crystallized when I saw her just now. I’m not sure I can trust her with you. I need to know that you are safe at all times. I cannot and will not let anything happen to you.”

I planted my hands on my hips. “What we did was unbelievably wonderful, but that doesn’t make you my keeper. You tried that once, remember, keeping me chained up. Is that what you want? A plaything? Because if you do, I’m not your girl.”

He ran his hands through his hair in an aggrieved manner. “Of course, I don’t want to keep you chained up.”

“So let me go with Aethelu.”

“No. I forbid it. I have stated my case. That is the end of it.”

Like hell it is.“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” My voice was much louder than Dream’s, and I knew Aethelu could hear every word I said. I didn’t even give a crap. If he wanted this argument, he could have it, but I wasn’t going to hide it. I was pissed off, pissed off being an understatement. “I’m going with Aethelu. You have two options. Either grow up and let me go with her or try to stop me. But let it be known. If you try to stop me, what we did earlier will never happen again, at least not with my consent.”

He visibly blanched at my words. Consent in anything to do with sex was such a huge deal for him and yet he was blind to the concept in any other situation. He let my arm go.

“So be it. Go with your friend. I will not stop you.”

“Too fucking right, you won’t.” Ok, I was probably being a little harsh, seeing as he’d backed down, but I was incensed and irritated. “Come on, Aethelu. Let’s go.”

I took Aethelu’s hand and all but dragged her into the forest. Tour flew overhead, cawing at us.

“I think this is a mistake,” Aethelu said as soon as we were out of earshot. “I didn’t mean to upset the king.”

“Yeah, well, the king’s an idiot.”

Aethelu groaned beside me. “I’ve told you before. You need to be careful, Ana.”

I stopped and turned to her. Her beautiful face was cast in the shadows of the leaves above us. “He pretty much said the same thing about you. He told me that he doesn’t trust you.”

Confusion painted her face. “Why ever not? I would not hurt you, Ana. I cannot understand why His Majesty thinks I would.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him. He seemed fine when you were helping us. It was just something he came up with this morning...Hang on. He can’t hear me through that weird telepathy thing you share, can he?”

“No. I know when he is in my head. He cannot come in without my permission. It’s like he has to knock on a door before I let him in. You are free to speak your mind.”

We walked a little further before I spoke again. “We had sex.”

Aethelu snorted. “I don’t need telepathy to know that. It’s pretty obvious. That’s why I wanted you to come with me for a walk. I want to make sure you are alright. I love you, Ana. I don’t want you hurt.”

“I love you too, but there is nothing to worry about. Dream treats me really well...most of the time.”

It was weird how easy it was to hear the words I love you, from a friend and how easy it was to say them back. I did love Aethelu. It was nothing compared to the squeezing agony of feelings I felt for Dream, but it was a love of platonic friendship between women. Something I had always lacked in my real life.

“Your relationship with the king is not my business, and I don’t want to interfere. If you say he treats you well, then who am I to get in the way. And while I don’t understand his problem with me, I will give you both some distance. You know where I live if you should ever need me.”

I was just about to tell her that I needed her right now. I needed some female company desperately, but I didn’t get the chance to get the words out. A Savagara leapt out of the trees toward us, its weird blue ghostlike shimmer lighting up the forest around us.

“The king sends his regards,” It rasped, extending its claws. It was a shock to hear it speak. I thought that it was nothing more than a beast despite the outline of a huge man beneath its ghostly surface. But that was nothing compared to the shock of it closing in on me, its teeth bared, and its glowing eyes fixed on me.

My mind spun. Dream had sent this thing? He hated me going off with Aethelu so much that he’d kill the pair of us? I didn’t want to believe it. He had a dark side, but this? After everything we’d done?

It leaped. I ducked out of its way, but I was too slow. Two huge paws crashed down on me, sending me to the ground. I cried out with pain as its full weight landed on top of me. “I’ve wanted a taste of you ever since I learned of your existence. My brother failed at killing your boyfriend, but I will not fail in killing you.”

Above it, I could see Aethelu raining blows upon its back. Not that it even noticed. My mind whirled with its words. If Dream sent this thing, why was it now calling him my boyfriend? Nothing made sense. I kicked upwards, aiming for its balls, but when my foot hit the blue, glowing surface, it was like kicking a wall made of steel.

“Fuck!” I yelped as the pain rippled through me.

“Nice try, human, but there is no winning here. At least, not for you. I’m going to enjoy you for breakfast and then finish up with your friend for dessert.”

Aethelu screamed and grabbed it by the horns. A quick twist of its head, and she was sent flying into the undergrowth. Tour landed on the monster’s shoulder and began cawing in its ear.

“It’s almost amusing how pitiful you both are. The human I can understand, but a Dreamlander. Well, that’s just disappointing. I’m sure she’ll be just as tasty as you, though.” He lowered his head and opened his mouth. I closed my eyes as his tongue brushed against my cheek. It was more like the tongue of a large cat such as a lion or tiger than of a human. Fear and disgust settled in my stomach as I opened my eyes again. His hot breath made me recoil as he opened his mouth to swallow me whole.

Bang

A loud crack echoed through the forest. The savagara’s eyes went wide before the life drained out of them. Its full weight landed on me, knocking the wind from my lungs. Seconds later, it lifted, and I sucked in a large lungful of air to combat the dizziness that was threatening to take over.

“Dream?” I croaked. He held out a hand to me to help me up. In his other hand, he held a gun.

“Are you ok? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

I shook my head as he pulled me to my feet. My emotions crashed down on top of me with more weight than the savagara.

“What is going on?” I asked as Dream pulled me to him and into his arms.

“I don’t know, but I suspect she does.”

I peeked out to see Aethelu sitting in the undergrowth, her hands up in the air as Dream held the gun out at her.

I pulled myself out of Dream’s embrace. “Seriously. What is happening? Where did you get a gun? And why did you send that bastard thing to kill us?”

I looked down at the body of the savagara to make sure it was really dead. It wasn’t breathing, which told me that I didn’t need to worry about it anymore. I only had to worry about Dream and Aethelu, who were now both glaring at each other.

“I sent it? I think you'll find it was her.” He indicated for Aethelu to stand up, which she did, her hands still above her head.

“Aethelu tried to save me from that monster. She’s not to blame here. The savagara told me you sent it.”

Dream’s eyes hadn’t left Aethelu’s the whole time he’d been here, but he tore them away to shoot a glance at me. He looked pissed. “Why would I send a savagara to kill you? I love you.”

Oh fuck. There it was. Those three words at the most inappropriate moment ever.

“He said the king sent him.”

Dream let out a quick breath that was almost a laugh. “There is more than one king in this realm. My brother sent this.”

Oh shit. The King of Nightmares. I’d forgotten his title. I cast my eyes down, mortified at what I’d just said. I’d accused the only man I’d ever loved of trying to kill me. Way to go, Ana!

“Isn’t that right, Aethelu?”

“Yes. The savagara no doubt was sent here by your brother, Your Majesty. I don’t understand what this has to do with me, though. I’ve never even met the King of Nightmares, nor have I ever set foot in his court.”

Dream’s eyes narrowed, the hate in his features obvious. It was the same look he’d given me when I’d first stepped into this kingdom. The same look that said, ‘I’m going to kill you.’

“Then why is it that whenever Ana and I are attacked, you are always around first. I didn’t think of it before, but it’s like someone is spying on us.” He kept the gun steadily pointed at her but quickly moved his eyes to either side before they settled back on Aethelu.

“I don’t see anyone else here. In fact, I’ve not seen anyone else in my forest for years before you happened to come along...just as Ana got here. Pretty coincidental, huh?”

“No!” I shouted out as he readied his aim. “She tried to save me.”

“Don’t feel sorry for her, Ana. She’d see you dead in the blink of an eye. She is a spy for my brother. Why else would she lure you to this spot where the savagara was waiting?”

“I’m not a spy,” Aethelu cried out, but I wasn’t listening. Dream was right. How else could the savagara have known to meet us here? And all the other times we’d been attacked. Aethelu had known exactly where we were. Something clicked into place in my head. I calmly grabbed the gun from Dream’s hand and shot the traitor right in the middle. She heaved a final breath and died in front of us.