A Beautiful Dream: The Dream Trilogy

by Samantha Barrett

  “You need to try, mi amor, for if they succeeded in doing what they plan, your people will die, as will you.” He leaned down to look me in the eyes while placing his hands on my hips, and my body temperature skyrocketed. My body had a mind of its own whenever he touched me.

  “They are not my people, okay? I will try to help them, but that does not mean I will ever accept being part fae, if it is true.” With a nod of his head and a large exhale of air, he spoke.

  “I can accept that and I thank you for helping”

  There was one thing I couldn’t quite get though, how the hell did he know all of this and how did he know so much. Was he a fae, no he couldn’t be because he was a vampire an un-dead so to speak? I had to ask him, I needed to know but I had a sinking feeling I wasn’t going to like his answer.

  “How do you know all of this, Melakai?” I watched his face closely for the truth.

  He tensed slightly and tried to cover it up as fast as he could, but it was too late—I had felt it.

  “I knew the fae queen,” he said, dropping his head in shame.

  “Wait, so you were there when all of this happened?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you Randall Cane’s son?”

  “Yes and no.” Vague much?

  “Which is it, Melakai? And I want the goddamn truth,” I said, pulling away from his grip so I could have a few feet of space between us. I couldn’t think straight when he was so close, and he knew it too.

  “I am his son through a blood oath, but not by blood.”

  “Explain, please.” He sat back down on the grass and once again patted the spot next to him in invitation. I relented with a huff and dropped down beside him.

  “When the fae queen first came to live with the king, I made sure I was the best and most trusted enforcer. I was assigned to escort the queen everywhere and guard her with my life always. I did this for many years, until the king banished her to be a slave, and even then I would look out for her. She was a kind and caring woman. She loved everyone and everything. It was just who she was. I thought the warlock that impregnated her had raped her like the others, so I ended his life. What I could never have foreseen was that the queen and the warlock had a bargain: she would bear him a child if he helped her open a portal back to Farrarie to her people, where she could get help. I killed the only hope she had for her freedom. I tried in every way I could to help the queen to escape, but all attempts proved futile.

  Once the child was born, I tried to delay the king as long as I could to give the queen time to teleport her child out of the dungeon and into its new life. I never thought the king would kill the queen, and I was too late to save her. I made a vow in that moment to never let anything happen to the queen’s child.”

  “So you knew this whole time where my mom was?”

  “Yes.”

  “How?”

  “The spell the queen cast was to cloak the child from any vampire that wished to harm her. I did not wish to harm her, therefore I was able to locate the child.” His matter of fact responses were raising my ire.

  “Why do you seem like this isn’t a big deal? You knew where the fae queen’s child was this whole time and never told the king? How do you know the king killed Jackson’s father?” If he had helped the king commit these crimes, I would find a way to end him and the king both. I could never trust Melakai again if he had helped kill my father.

  “I followed the king every night while the queen was locked up, to see what he was doing and if he would visit the witch that had blocked the queen’s powers. I saw him lure Jackson’s father away from his people on a false pretense of spies in his pack, swearing him to secrecy. That was how the king killed the pup’s father. I told you I have no proof he was involved in your father’s death; I only suspect that he did, because he’s done it before.”

  I was trying so hard to keep up with what he was saying when a thought suddenly struck me.

  “You saw, didn’t you?” He tilted his head to the side, a look of confusion on his face.

  “Saw what, mi amor?”

  “What my mother did to me. You saw it all, didn’t you?”

  A look of pain, anger, and heartbreak crossed his face before he hung his head in shame. He didn’t need to reply—his face and body language gave me all the answer I needed. I jumped to my feet and couldn’t stop the words from pouring out of my mouth.

  “You gutless, spineless, son of a bitch!” I screamed at him. He jumped to his feet and tried to grab me, but I side-stepped him and continued my rant. “You have the nerve to stand before me and claim to want to protect me from harm, when you let a monster abuse me for years, when you could have saved me from all of it. You just stood by and watched her beat me and starve me and tear me down to nothing. How do you look at yourself every day, knowing you could have saved a child from a lifetime of misery? You’re a fucking coward!”

  I slapped him so hard across the face that my hand developed a pulse. I couldn’t stop screaming at him, calling him every name I could think of while pacing and swinging at him wildly. After a few minutes he finally had enough and grabbed both my arms and spun me around so my arms were locked behind my back and my back was to his chest. We were both breathing fast and hard. After he gained his composure, he spoke.

  “I tried to help, Ryan, and I made it fucking worse okay, I confronted your mother while you were at school —you must have been eight or nine. I told her the truth of who and what she was. She didn’t believe me at first, until I showed her my fangs and what I truly am. She screamed at me to leave and never come back, or she would kill you. She was mentally unstable. I couldn’t trust that if I came to you and told you what you were, that you wouldn’t tell her you had met me. I saw what happened that night when you came home from school, and I am so sorry, Ryan, for my part in making matters worse, I truly am.” That was the first time Kai had ever called me by my name.

  I was still trying to calm myself after hearing what he had said. I knew which night he was talking about—that was the night everything changed for me and my mother. She threw me down the stairs, and I hit my head so hard that I needed stitches and had a concussion. It didn’t end there. After getting home from the hospital, she used the belt on my ass until I passed out from the pain. Now I knew why she had done it: she hated me so much after finding out what I was that she was trying to beat the magic out of me. She was jealous of me.

  “Get your hands off me now and let me go. I want to wake the fuck up now, and I want you to stay the hell away from me, Melakai Cane!” As I spat that last word out, I felt him flinch behind me, and I knew it was wrong to blame him for what my mother had done, but I didn’t care. I was angry and hurt and even ashamed, and I wouldn’t spend a minute longer with someone who watched my abuse and did not stop it.

  He released my hands, and I spun around to look at him. His eyes betrayed his surface calmness; they had a storm brewing inside them. He finally gave up the staring contest and nodded.

  He turned to leave, but stopped and looked over his shoulder and whispered, “I am so very sorry, mi amor; I wish I had done more. Just know that I was there, even if you do not remember.” I had no idea what the hell that meant. I gave him a curt nod of my head and then everything went dark once more.

  Chapter 17

  I woke the next morning feeling more exhausted than when I went to sleep. I was in no rush to leave my room this morning, knowing I would have to face my sister. That was a conversation I was more than happy to put off.

  I dragged myself out of bed and hopped in the shower, hoping it would release some tension in my body. After showering, I towel-dried my hair and put on a pair of my most comfy sweats and paired them with a plain black singlet, I threw a red and black checkered flannel-shirt over the top. After changing, I went back into the bathroom to finish doing my hair, and when I looked at the mirror, I was shocked by the person I saw.

  My eyes seemed more greenish-yellow, and my hair was shinier and richer in color. I
looked more a woman than a girl. The changes wouldn’t be noticeable to anyone other than myself, but I felt a surge of confidence shoot through me, along with an ember of hope that maybe some man might be able to love me for me someday. I quickly pushed those thoughts aside, because I had enough to worry about without adding man problems.

  I ran a brush through my hair and tied it into a high ponytail. I needed to think about how I was going to tell the others what I had learned without making myself look like a crazy person. Easier said than done, if you ask me. Knowing I couldn’t hole up in my room forever I pushed myself off my bed with a sigh and went to search for the others.

  The boys were kicked back on the couches in the living room, watching TV. I bid them a cool greeting and went to the kitchen to find my sister. She was at the bench, staring out the window. I cleared my throat to get her attention. She snapped her head my way, looking at me with eyes that I didn’t recognize—it was like the light had been sucked out of her. She shook her head, and then her eyes changed from the dark green I had just seen back to their normal hazel-green color. I couldn’t explain it, but something was not right with my sister.

  “Morning,” I said.

  “Hi,” was her frosty response. Wow, she thought she had a right to be pissed at me? Other way around, Stevie—you fucked up, not me.

  “Look, I need to talk you about something,” I said while taking a seat on one of the bench chairs.

  “Unless it’s an apology, I’m good, thanks.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me right now?” I couldn’t believe this. She wants me to say sorry after she hit me? Bitch much? I was stunned.

  “No, I am not. The way you behaved last night, and the way you spoke to me in front of the other leaders, is unacceptable Ryan. If you want to talk, apologize first, then we can work something out from there.” I snorted, and she narrowed her eyes at me.

  “You may think I am in the wrong here, but I am not, Stevie. You need to hear what I have to say, or it will be on your head when the treaty goes to shit,” I said, my fury rising.

  “The treaty is none of your concern sister; I signed it this morning when Randall came by.”

  Holy shit, she just sealed my death warrant and the whole of Farrarie with what she has done. I walked right up to my sister so we were eye to eye she needed to see the truth in my eyes.

  “You stupid fool; you have no idea what the fuck you have done. You are a murderer, Stevie! The blood of every fae will be on your hands, and so will mine.” She just stared at me with a blank look on her face; I had nothing left to say to her. She wouldn’t listen to anyone but herself; she thought what she was doing was right. I pushed passed her and went back to my room to think of a new plan, one that involved saving my life and the fae realm.

  I went to sit on the day bed right by the window; it was such a beautiful sight to see the snow falling and watch the ground be blanketed with white. The sun was out, and there was a slight breeze outside. It was a beautiful day. It helped raise my spirits a bit. Just as I leaned back on the pillows and closed my eyes, there was a knock at my door. Not bothering to open my eyes I told whoever it was to come in.

  “Hey, squirt, we need to talk to you.” I opened my eyes immediately to see both my cousins standing in the doorway; I waved them over and told them to have a seat. Chase closed the door and sat on the edge of the bed while Alex leaned on the wall beside the window.

  “What’s up, guys?” I asked, curious as to what they had to say.

  “About last night…” Alex began but I cut him off.

  “Don’t cry over spilled milk, Alex. I’m a big girl, and I get it that you guys can’t stand against her because she’s your leader. It’s fine. I don’t blame you or have any ill feelings toward either of use for it,” I said with a slight smile on my lips, hoping to ease their guilt.

  Alex shook his head. “We do not condone what Stevie did to you, Ryan, nor do we agree with her decision to sign the treaty and seal the fae world from ours. A whole race cannot be accountable for the actions of a few.”

  “So what does this mean?”

  “It means, squirt, we want to try stop her, and something you said caught our attention earlier,” Chase answered.

  “What did I say?”

  “That your blood would be on her hands if she signed the treaty. What did you mean by that?” Alex asked with a quirk of his brow. You could always count on Alex to listen to every word someone said.

  “It means that if she seals the portal to Farrarie off, she will kill all the fae, me included.”

  They both exchanged a look of worry and confusion, but Chase was the one who spoke first.

  “Ryan, if you’re thinking of taking your own life to prove a point, there are other ways! We can help you through this.” He looked so broken in that moment, like he wanted to lock me away where no one could harm me and I couldn’t harm myself. An inappropriate giggle burbled out of me before I could stop it; it was a nervous habit.

  “This isn’t fucking funny, Ryan. We’re serious,” Alex said, annoyance thick in his tone; I stopped laughing and answered him.

  “I am not going to harm myself in any way, I promise you that. I have to tell you both something, but you may want to take a seat; it’s a long-ass story.” They both nodded and made themselves comfortable. “Where’s Stevie?”

  “She went out to see if she could get Jackson to sign the treaty. He said he needed time to think about it, which I guess is a good thing,” Chase said.

  “Well, listen up.” I recounted Melakai’s story about the vampire king and fae queen to them. Their expressions morphed from awe to confusion, then hatred and anger. I could relate to how they were feeling, but rather than getting heated and being irrational, we needed to come up with a plan—and fast. If I know my sister like I think I do, she will be trying to get this plan done by whatever means necessary.

  Alex leaned forward, placing his forearms on his thighs and asked, “Wait, so if the queen had a kid, and then that kid had twin girls, we need to find them and protect them from the king?”

  “If he finds the child that inherited both witch and fae powers, we are all royally fucked,” Chase said, exasperated.

  I stared at them both, astonished at their failure to connect the dots. “Well, boys, we have already found the girls.”

  “Where are they, Ryan? We need to go get them now!” Alex demanded while pacing the floor. And to think Alex was the brainy kid of the family.

  “One is out there, and the other is in here,” I told them, Okay, maybe I was enjoying having the upper hand on Alex for once.

  “What the fuck does that mean, Ryan? Stop being cryptic and spit it out. Their lives are in danger!” Alex retorted. I let out a loud huff of air before standing and looking at them both.

  “Stevie is the first born twin, and I am the second born!”

  “Dear God,” Chase said, placing his hand over his mouth.

  “I fucking know that, Ryan, but where—” Chase cut Alex off with a growl.

  “You are not listening, dipshit; Stevie and Ryan are the granddaughters of the fae queen. Stevie isn’t the one with both fae and witch power—Ryan is.” Chase turned to look at me, and he looked scared, but not for himself. Alex stopped pacing and stared at me in disbelief.

  “Holy fuck, Ryan. This isn’t good at all. If they seal the fae realm off, you’ll die?” Alex asked

  “Yes, Alex, if she goes through with this, I will die. We need to figure this out fast, but I don’t know how to stop this. Stevie has gone so power hungry that I don’t even recognize her,” I said.

  “I can agree that the power has gone to her head a bit,” Chase said, shaking his head.

  “We need to try talk to her tonight, and if she won’t listen, then we’re on our own,” Alex stated grimly.

  We all agreed to talk to her tonight at dinner. We all hoped she would see reason and stop this madness, but a part of me knew my sister wouldn’t listen. The look in her eyes told me enough t
his morning.

  ∞∞∞

  After the boys had left my room, I went through my bag and pulled out my favorite book, Night Flame, by Catherine Hart. I sat back in my chair by the window, prepared to spend the rest of the afternoon reading, when a shiver ran down my spine. I jumped out of my seat and spun around to see a pair of yellow eyes glowing in the corner of the room. As those eyes drew closer to me, I realized that it was Simon, the fae that came to warn me the other day.

  “Hi,” I said, keeping my voice low so the others wouldn’t hear.

  “Hello, Ryan, may I speak with you, please?”

  “Sure, hang on one sec, okay?” I dashed over to the other side of the bed and grabbed my iPod so I could plug it in to the speaker. With that going, if anyone went past my room, they wouldn’t hear us talking. As I set the iPod to play, the song that started was one of my favorites, Frankie J’s song, “Obsession.”

  “Clever you are, my dear,” Simon said as I walked back to take my seat. I waved to the bed so that he could sit, and he did. I looked at him, thinking that he reminded me of someone, just the way he moved and how he looked at me, but I just couldn’t think who it was.

  “What can I do for you, Simon?”

  “I have been keeping an eye on things here in this realm regarding the treaty. I see your sister is still out for blood, as is the vampire king.”

  “Look, I’ve tried to talk to her but she won’t listen. My cousins and I are going to try to talk to her tonight again.”

  “If she won’t listen, what then?”

  “Then we come up with a plan B.” He looked at me skeptically for a moment.

  “What are you?” I didn’t know him well enough to share the truth, so I lied.

  “I’m a witch,” I said, looking him in the eyes. He tilted his head to the side and looked me up and down with an intensity that was deeply uncomfortable.

  As an awkward silence settled between us, and then in a blink he was standing right in front of me. If I pursed my lips, I would kiss him. I took a deep drag of air through my nose; his scent was almost intoxicating. It was turning me on, and I felt my body heating.