Wishing on a Dream

by Michele Notaro

  He stared at me for a few seconds. “You’re really a warlock…? You can… do magic?”

  I nodded, then scanned his hallway for something to use, and I noticed a couple of owl figurines on a little shelf, which made me smile. I’d heard Laz tell Grady he’d picked up my globe for him because of the owl inside. It was as if it was meant to be.

  There was a small table against the wall that had potpourri in it, so I plucked a petal of dried jasmine out and held my hand out to Grady. He placed his hand in mine, and I turned it so his palm was facing up, but I still held it in mine. I placed the dried petal in his hand. He watched intently as I held my other hand over his palm, closed my eyes, and let my magic rush out of me. My hands grew warm as my power filled them, and once I pressed my will into the magic, I released it. My magic flowed from me in an icy mist and went straight into the dried petal.

  I slowly lifted my hand, but kept it hovering over his so we could watch as the petal began to grow. Before our eyes, the jasmine grew from a single dried petal to a tall plant in Grady’s hand.

  Grady gasped, his mouth hanging open, and I couldn’t help but smile. His look of surprise was adorable and made me want to kiss him—something I wasn’t used to feeling.

  “Holy shit,” he whispered under his breath.

  I smiled. “If we put the plant in something, it will never die.”

  His eyes shot up to mine. “Are you serious?”

  I nodded. “My magic will keep it healthy, but if you care for it, it will continue to grow.”

  His mouth opened, then snapped shut, and he headed back into the kitchen. He found an old jar in a cabinet, then set about placing the flower inside. Once it was sitting on his kitchen windowsill, he turned to me still wearing that shocked expression on his face.

  A niggle of worry started to form, and I placed my hands behind my back and said, “I’m sorry if I worried you. I won’t perform magic here if it’s to your disliking.”

  His eyes widened. “No, Alaric… Jesus, no. That’s not why I’m… I’m just surprised. I mean, I know I saw you come out of the snow globe as smoke, then a smoke monster, and then turn solid in front of me. I know we’ve been dream-walking. I know these things, and yet, seeing you do that, seeing that magic. It was just… it was simply amazing. A miracle. And… I’m processing. A lot has happened in the last twelve hours, and I’m… I’m processing.”

  Not knowing what to say or do, I licked my lips and only said, “Okay.”

  He blew out a long breath. “I don’t want you to stop doing… magic. I want you to be yourself, okay? This is… this is a safe place for you, for me. This… I know you just got here, but I want you to feel at home here.”

  A smile tugged at the corner of my lips. “Thank you, Grady.”

  He nodded with his own small smile. “Ready for that tour? Not that there’s much to show you, but…” He shrugged as he trailed off.

  “Lead the way.”

  He walked out of the kitchen. “Well, you already saw the kitchen, living room, dining room, and hallway.” He snorted. “And the front door.”

  I smiled. “It’s a very lovely home.”

  “Thanks. I like it here.” He walked upstairs. “It’s only a two-bedroom house, but the rooms are pretty huge. And I only have one bathroom.” He led me to a room with a bed, dresser, and television in it. “This is the guest room, or what I sometimes call Laz’s room since he’s the only one that ever stays in here.” He walked down the hall. “And this is my bedroom.”

  This room was furnished with dark wood. The bed was large with blue covers that looked soft. There were two dressers, a television, and nightstands on either side of the bed, and I saw a few more owl figurines on top of them. I smiled and said, “This is wonderful.”

  “Thanks. The bathroom is over here.” He walked out of his bedroom and into the bathroom where he leaned against the sink. “Whenever you’re ready for a shower, I’ll show you how it works. And I have plenty of clothes, so you can borrow some until we can take you shopping. I think my clothes might be a little big on you, but they should do for now.”

  Leaning my shoulder against the door jamb, I said, “I appreciate everything you’re doing for me, Grady.”

  He shrugged. “It’s no big deal. So… that’s the whole house. Well, I have a basement that I really only use for laundry and a fenced-in back yard, but you saw that when you let Tiberius out, right?”

  I nodded. I’d seen it, although I hadn’t paid much attention because I’d been talking to Grady. He seemed to fill up all my thoughts when he was close.

  He suddenly laughed. “Okay, now that that’s done, I have no idea what to do. Do you need anything? I’m not… sure what we’re supposed to do or if… do you need to go anywhere? Do you still have family—no, stupid question. You’re over two hundred years old, of course, you don’t have family… wait… you’re two hundred. Does that mean… are you immortal?”

  Right. He didn’t know about my kin. “Warlocks live longer lives than humans. The magic in our system keeps us alive. We’re not immortal, but we can live for around one thousand years or so.”

  Grady’s eyes widened in shock. “Wow. That’s wow. Just wow.”

  “Most warlocks are killed before they reach that age.”

  “Oh.” His wide eyes started blinking rapidly.

  “Are you feeling alright?” I stepped closer to him when his breathing sped up, then I placed my hand on the side of his neck. “What’s wrong, Grady? What do you need?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing’s wrong. I think I’m back to that processing thing again.” I shot him a small grin, hoping it would calm him. “How is it that you’re not freaking out, but I am. I’m not the one that was trapped for two hundred years.”

  “I’m most certainly overwhelmed as well. But whenever I start feeling like it’s too much, I look at you and remind myself that you’re here, that you’ll help me, that you…”

  “That I what?”

  “That you connected yourself to me.”

  “What does that mean?” I shook my head and looked into his eyes. Those bright blues were sparkling with happiness now that his panic was fading. His breath caught as he stared back at me, and he whispered, “I’m glad you’re here, Alaric.”

  I smiled. “Me too.” And since I knew he’d have to be feeling the pull between us, too, I stepped even closer to him. His eyes flicked down to my lips, and even though I was nervous, even though I had no idea what I was doing, even though it wasn’t proper, even though I hadn’t courted him yet, I leaned close so our lips were only an inch apart. When he didn’t back away, I closed the distance. A small moan escaped his lips, but I caught it with mine as I wrapped my arms around him. He slipped his arms around my waist as he took control of the kiss. His tongue flicked out, seeking entrance, and I happily allowed it.

  As his tongue brushed along mine, sparks of pleasure and something else, some pull, some connection, flicked to life once again. The pulsing energy between us intensified, and I whimpered in pleasure. Grady kissed me fiercely, and I clung to him, holding tight as the energy swirled between us.

  We kissed for a long time, until we had to break apart to catch our breath, resting our foreheads together.

  I whispered, “May I court you?”

  He let out a breathless laugh. “Um… you mean date me?”

  It took me a second to remember that people in these times didn’t typically court, they dated. “Yes.”

  He laughed again. “Yes, I would… I would like that.” I smiled at him, and he pressed a small kiss to my lips, then glanced around the bathroom we were still in. “Um… maybe we should watch a movie or at least move out of the bathroom.”

  “Sure.” I reluctantly released him and walked out of the bathroom and downstairs with him behind me. As we headed into the living room, I admitted, “I’m afraid I don’t know the rules of dating.”

  He laughed. “Don’t worry, we can figure it out together. I haven’t had much luc
k with dating, so maybe we can both learn a thing or two about it.”

  I smiled, although it reminded me of that horrible man, Eddie, who had hurt Grady.

  “Why are you frowning?” He sat on the couch and patted the spot beside him, so I joined him.

  “I was thinking about Eddie hurting you.”

  He frowned. “That sucked, but… that’s what helped release your magic, so I don’t regret it.”

  Taking a deep breath, I recognized his point. “Still… seeing you hurt and bleeding. He’s lucky I was stuck inside my prison. If I’d been out, I would have hurt him worse than he hurt you.”

  Grady patted my arm. “No sense in worrying. He hasn’t been back in weeks.” He fell silent for a minute, then, “Um… would you like to see the grimoire?”

  I froze. I hadn’t forgotten about the large tome, but I hadn’t been prepared to read it—ever. Still, it was my family’s. “Yes, I think I would.”

  He nodded and went into a cabinet where he’d hidden it away, pulled it out, and set the large book on the coffee table. Hesitantly, I reached out and ran my fingers over my family’s crest, then I slowly opened it. Seeing this book brought back so many memories of my father hunched over, reading and writing and hiding the book’s contents from me, telling me I wasn’t good enough to see it, telling me I needed to prove myself before he’d let me touch the book even though I thought I already had proved myself worthy.

  That terrible self-doubt began creeping in again, even after two centuries away from that man, it all came crashing against me, making me overwhelmed and heartbroken at the same time. My chest felt tight, my heart was pounding, sweat began to drip along my back. Realizing my father still had the power over me to make me feel so awful, I slammed the book shut and pushed it away, saying, “I don’t want to look at that thing.”

  Grady’s eyebrows rose. “Are you sure?”

  I shoved the grimoire away again. “That book doesn’t have good memories for me, and I’d rather bask in the happiness of my release than sit around and read the terrible things my father wrote about me or the things the grimoire wrote itself.”

  “You think your father—”

  “Yes. I’m sure of it.”

  He nodded and fell silent for a moment, and I felt bad for snapping, but just as I was about to apologize, he asked, “The grimoire writes itself?”

  I nodded. “Yes. There’s a spell on all warlock and witch grimoires that allows them to record the events in a family’s life, but you can add things like spells and notes and anything else you want as well.”

  “Wow. That’s really cool. Are you sure you don’t want to see it?”

  “Not right now, no. But thank you, Grady.”

  “You’re welcome. Want me to put it back?” He meant out of sight.

  “Please.”

  He nodded and got up to put the grimoire back inside the cabinet. “It’s there if you want it another time.”

  “Thank you. Would it be okay with you if I set up wards around your home to ensure we’re safe?”

  He lifted a brow, but nodded. “Sure.”

  Grady stood back as I set my hands on the front door of his home, pulled on my magic, closed my eyes, and pushed my willpower into the magic before releasing it. White mist floated from my hands and began making its way around the door, then slowly crawled its way around the entire perimeter of the house. Since I was weak from only being set free last night, the wards wouldn’t be very strong, but the seeds for the spell would be planted, and I’d only have to push my willpower into it every day until it grew strong enough to protect Grady from danger instead of having to start from scratch every time. It would grow stronger and stronger. It took a good ten minutes, and when I finished, I blew out a breath, utterly exhausted.

  When I opened my eyes, Grady was staring at me, eyes wide, and I licked my lips and smiled hesitantly, saying, “We’re all set.”

  He nodded.

  “Thanks for letting me do that.”

  “Um… no problem.” He smiled gently and ran his hands down his pants like he was wiping them off. Maybe he was nervous. He asked, “Would you like to watch a Christmas movie?”

  “Are there any that you haven’t already watched five times this year?” I teased. I’d been forced to sit through all his favorite movies since he’d brought me home. He’d watched them all over and over to the point of being obsessed. I’d heard Laz teasing him relentlessly about it, too, and every time, I couldn’t help but agree with Grady’s friend. But I would suffer through another viewing if it meant I could sit beside Grady for a few hours.

  He chuckled. “Probably not, but I can make popcorn.”

  “That would be wonderful.”

  He smiled and walked into the kitchen.

  After hours of watching movies and having Grady relax and talk and laugh and smile more than I’d ever seen him do before, we ate dinner, and I was beginning to get tired.

  “The sheets in the guest room are clean,” Grady said. “Why don’t you head to bed? It’s been a long day.”

  The truth was, I didn’t want to let him out of my sight. But he was right, I was exhausted. Being out of my prison, even if only moving around the house, had drained my energy more than I’d realized this morning. I’d been running on nerves and adrenaline, but after resting for so long, it was catching up to me.

  “Are you heading to bed as well?” I asked.

  “I will be soon, yes.”

  I nodded, but hesitated. Standing in front of him, I grabbed one of his hands and held it up so I could place a kiss on his knuckles. “Thank you for a lovely day, Grady, and for your hospitality. It’s greatly appreciated.” I stood up straight to stare into his gorgeous eyes, but I didn’t let go of his hand. “If you need anything or if you sense anything or feel off, please come and wake me.”

  “What do you mean if I feel off?”

  I took a deep breath. “I’m unsure, but I believe we’re connected, and I’m unsure if being in separate rooms will be uncomfortable.”

  He blinked at me.

  “It’s nothing to worry about.”

  “Um… are you sure?”

  I nodded. “Let me know if you need anything, and thank you again for today.”

  “You’re welcome. Goodnight, Alaric.”

  “Goodnight, Grady.” I lifted his hand to place one last kiss to his knuckles before finally letting go and walking upstairs. Tiberius flew from his spot on the dining room chair to my shoulder, and we went into the guest bedroom. I left the door open in case Grady needed anything.

  I hadn’t meant to worry him, but I wasn’t sure what him linking himself to me would entail. No one I’d met had ever had a human link their soul to theirs, so I was unfamiliar with the side effects.

  One thing I’d noticed throughout the day, though, was that every time Grady walked into a different room as me, my chest tightened uncomfortably.

  Chapter 13

  Grady

  When I woke up in my bed, my chest was so tight, I thought I was having a heart attack. Gasping for breath, I sat up and grabbed my chest, sucking in shallow breaths. My body was locked up so tight, I didn’t think I could move. What the hell is wrong with me?

  My bedroom door suddenly flew open and Alaric came storming in, looking just as distraught as I felt. Without a word, he dove toward me, wrapping his arms around my neck and squeezing me tight. My hand automatically found his back, and feeling his body against mine made my next breath a little easier.

  Alaric was mumbling, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” over and over, but I didn’t have enough air to ask what he was sorry for.

  The longer we hugged, the easier it became to breathe, and after a few minutes, I scooted back against the headboard and pulled Alaric closer so he was almost in my lap. Then I finally asked breathlessly, “What are you sorry about?”

  “This is all my fault,” he said, his breath ghosting along the skin of my neck.

  “How?”

  “Yo
u connected your soul to mine, and it… panicked, I suppose is the best description.” He huffed out a long sigh. “I’m sorry, Grady. I didn’t realize it would be that painful for you.”

  “It sorta sounds like it was my soul’s fault, not yours.”

  He snorted out what might’ve been a laugh. “If you say so.”

  He started to back away, but I tightened my grip and whispered, “Please don’t move yet.”

  “Okay, dove. I’ll stay as long as you like,” he whispered back.

  I hummed and buried my face in his shoulder, focusing on the buzzing energy between us that made me feel equal parts relaxed and excited.

  We stayed that way for a long time before I finally allowed him to move, but only because I knew he was starving and we both needed to get ready for the day.

  After we cleaned up from breakfast, I grabbed a shower while Alaric sat in the living room with Tiberius. When I was done, I walked Alaric upstairs to the bathroom and showed him how to use… everything. I turned the shower on for him, showed him the soap and shampoo and all that, left some clean clothes inside, then headed downstairs to get my gifts and things in order. The farther away from him I got, the more my chest clenched in an unfamiliar way. It was uncomfortable, but I thought knowing he was safe and inside my house made it bearable enough to breathe.

  The water was still running upstairs when Laz knocked on the door, and as soon as he walked in, he asked, “What’s with that face?”

  “What face?”

  He scowled at me. “You’re making a weird face.”

  “Thanks. Merry Christmas to you, too.”

  He huffed out a laugh. “Sorry. Merry Christmas, Grades.” He pulled me into a hug. “I hope you had a great morning.”

  I hugged him back with a huge grin on my face, even though my chest was sore. “I did, thank you.”

  When he released me, he scrutinized my face for a moment. “Alright, what is it?”

  “What is what?” Even though I was dying to tell him, it was fun watching him get frustrated.