Poisonous Dream

by Yumoyori Wilson

  When we finally got clearance to go check on Midnight, I was the first to dart out the medical room and head to where Daniel had taken her. I couldn't wait to hold her and kiss her. I guess you could say, she would help calm all the emotions running through me and lesson my own level of panic.

  As long as I knew she was well, I figured I'd be okay and we'd all return back together. But when I entered the clearing— my eyes growing wide at the sight before me, I didn't know how to react.

  I watched Midnight lean up to kiss Daniel; his hands rested on her hips and her arms around his neck. When they leaned back I could see the way her eyes danced with admiration and love for Daniel. She looked exhausted, but calm.

  Daniel pressed his forehead against hers, both of them exchanging words before they hugged. Daniel had pulled back to ask her something, yet my mouth opened— unable to hide my presence any longer.

  When they noticed my presence, they looked shocked, but they didn't move away from one another. They stayed in place which only made me even more confused.

  The others had arrived and their actions only added to my predicament as they all took turns kissing Midnight and checking to see if she was okay.

  I knew I shouldn't be standing there, my apprehensiveness already taking a toll on Midnight as she glanced at me hesitantly. Ryder had pulled her to the side, talking with her before I noticed the shift in power— Stryker taking over and kissing her too.

  Stryker told me through our knight bond to stop acting like a fool and to come over and talk with Midnight; my stillness and silence only making things worse which wasn't helpful for Midnight right now.

  I finally had the courage to walk over and comfort her, hiding how hurt I was.

  I knew Stryker was right and I would only cause Midnight to worry. We'd have a private moment once she'd gotten tons of rest and I'd get to express how I felt and to ensure we were good and maybe we could have a date together. Just us.

  "Are they back at the castle?" Ryder questioned.

  Marcus took out his phone, his finger typing rapidly on the screen. "Yup. Kade said Midnight fell asleep on the way back. She's resting and being scanned by Karen," Marcus replied, grinning at the screen.

  We all smiled at the fact Midnight had fallen asleep after she'd vowed she wouldn't.

  Kai turned to face me.

  "Elyion. We need to talk about Midnight," Kai stressed.

  "There's nothing much to talk about," I replied, unsure if I wanted to have this conversation right now.

  Ryder sighed, his hand ruffling his black locks. "EliaseAnne. I know you're upset. You can't hide that from me and the others have known you long enough to tell that you're mad," Ryder acknowledged.

  Marcus slipped his phone back into his pocket before walking to stand next to Daniel who was standing next to Ryder.

  "Eli. We all love Makoto. But you have to understand that Makoto, Midnight, all her other spirits they're all one person. They are influenced by Mako's emotions and as she begins to deepen her love for all of us, that's going to affect her spirits as well," Marcus revealed.

  "I know," I mumbled, my gaze fell to the ground, analyzing the moist soil beneath my shoes. Even with his explanation, it wasn't helping me feel better.

  "But you're upset that I kissed her," Daniel accused.

  I bit my lip, lifting my gaze to his eyes that were a darker tint of copper. I had to be careful what I said. He looked exhausted and wouldn't have his usual level of patience in his current mood. "Yes," I replied, knowing if I tried to deny it, he'd know.

  "EliaseAnne. I've liked Midnight since I saw her at the house when you introduced her. I've told Elias about this and he's been aware of my feelings. I didn't want to step on your toes and I was already dealing with Midnight hating my kind. But you guys encouraged me to stop running. That included me ignoring my feelings. I know Azriel's intrigued by her as well, though he wanted to build his relationship with Hope first. If this is going to be an issue, state it now. But if you think I'm going to back away and let us go with the idea that her spirits are only designed for our counterparts, I can guarantee that suggestion will fail," Daniel proclaimed.

  We stood in silence as his words lingered in the tense air.

  "It's a tad too late for that," Ryder confessed.

  We all turned our attention to him as he crossed his arms.

  "What do you mean?" I asked.

  "Mako's been intimate with Stryker. He likes her just like Rose and we've already had this discussion down on Earthala," Ryder announced.

  What?

  "Intimate as in..." Daniel trailed off.

  Ryder grinned. "They had sex. We got into an argument and I was being stubborn and was exhausted. Stryker took over and from what he explained to me, he informed Makoto that it was fine for her to be in love with our spirits as well as us. She's not designated to just one and neither are her spirits. If Midnight wants to kiss Daniel, she can. If Mako wants to kiss EliaseAnne, she's welcome to. There are no boundaries between our group. She's our Princess and we’re her knights and lovers. She needs balance, but adding all these rules and restrictions will backfire in the long run as it is right now," Ryder hypothesized.

  Kai cleared his throat, adding his input to the discussion.

  "I've kissed Midnight as well. We had a similar discussion," Kai revealed.

  "Well, you all know I kissed her so." Daniel shrugged.

  "Why am I the last one in this?" Marcus mumbled.

  "You were with the sunflowers that's why," I commented, rolling my eyes. Since Midnight had kissed me back in Minato before the exam, Marcus was the only one till moments ago who hadn't kissed Midnight yet.

  He huffed, but returned to his serious stature. "We need to be in full agreement on this. Mako, Midnight and her other spirits have been through enough bullshit the last four rotations. Now that we're in Heila and can finally settle in, we need to show her love and affection. She needs to learn how to enjoy a relaxing moment or two before being pushed, shoved or thrown into another wave of drama and conflict," Marcus lectured.

  Ryder nodded. "I agree. She needs balance and our full support. We all love her and her spirits. We can't be jealous of one another. We're a team and her star knights. No one is better than the other and though it may take some time for us to figure out a schedule, we will all get alone time with her and her spirits," Ryder confirmed.

  "I'm fine with it," Daniel announced.

  "Me too," Marcus replied.

  "I'm down," Kai confirmed.

  "Yes, for me," Ryder approved.

  All of them turned to hear my verdict. Elias took control in a second, grinning.

  "Can't go agreeing on shit and not ask for my specific opinion so, yes I agree," he announced before retreating, giving me control once more.

  I blinked, needing a moment of the dizziness to settle. "I swear, you're the most annoying host ever," I grumbled.

  "First of all, I'm amazing. Second, you nag more than me. Third, stop being upset. No one’s stealing Midnight away from you. They aren't your replacement. They love her just like you do. Now stop being hesitant to agree," Elias ordered.

  I groaned. "That's more of an order than free will," I mumbled under my breath but exhaled.

  He was right and I shouldn't be wasting everyone's time with my worries. Everyone was exhausted thanks to everything that happened, and it was about time we headed back to rest.

  "I agree. Sorry for being jealous," I apologized.

  The others let out exhales of relief— wide smiles forming on their face.

  "Well thank Mother Starlight. I didn't want to deal with fighting y'all," Kai announced.

  Marcus laughed. "Fuck off. We'd kick your ass." Marcus walked over to ruffle his ginger hair.

  He hissed, elbowing him. "I'd burn you," he replied.

  "I can just tell Stryker to burn your tail off," Marcus proposed.

  Kai narrowed his eyes at Ryder who looked confused; his eyes bled black as Stryker took over.
>
  "No one’s burning your tail off. Eli's nagging is enough. I don't need yours," he huffed, crossing his arms.

  "I don't nag a lot," I argued.

  Four pairs of eyes stared at me.

  I huffed, crossing my arms. "I'm tired! I'm heading back," I announced, already beginning to walk to the path.

  "Come back we need a group hug," Marcus called out.

  "Fuck! Marcus let her go," Daniel complained.

  "I don't want to hug," Kai called out.

  I stopped, looking over to see them in Marcus’ hug. He grinned at me, giving me a wink. I smirked, turning and heading to the bundle of testosterone. I joined the group hug, praying to the gods that we always worked out our differences. We were all anxious about who the final destined knight would be, but hopefully, everything would work out and he'd fit into our group.

  The only worry that lingered in my mind was where he'd belong. No matter how much I tried to ignore the feeling deep within me, I knew, it wouldn't be in my favor.

  And that was my darkest fear.

  ~MAKOTO~

  "EliaseAnne. I'm just going to the garden. I've been there all week. I know how to go through the maze with my eyes closed and I have Nightmare. I don't need you coming with me. You need to finish planning for the knight duty. You guys promised Kade you'd have your schedules sorted, yet you guys spent all night playing that stupid block game," I huffed.

  "It's JENGA. I wasn't going to let Ryuu beat me! He would have that big ass smug smile on his lips and ugh. It's too frustrating to lose," Eli replied, her hand ruffling her blonde curls.

  I raised an eyebrow at her as I took a moment to appreciate her knightly gear. Their attire was similar to what we'd worn at the competition, minus the cape and extra armor. Since my knights were all from royal backgrounds, their knight gear was specialized to their designated colors that they were obsessed with and their badges had a specific number, which represented their birth realm.

  The others were already headed to the meeting room, EliaseAnne returning to get a hair tie and ensure I stayed indoors. It was ridiculous.

  I had my own royalty mark and though my magic wasn't at one hundred percent, I was strong enough to defend myself. No more surprise backstabs and attempted arrows to my chest. Plus, Nightmare would be with me.

  I glanced down at my familiar who was cuddled in my lap as I sat on the bed. I gently stroked her hair, her soft purrs rewarded me.

  "I'll be fine for two hours. Mother said Xavier would be home any minute. I'm gonna surprise him when he arrives," I announced happily.

  I remembered he didn't like surprises in the past, but Kade thought it would be a good way to break the ice with him. I remembered it was harder to break down his walls and get his true feelings out, but he'd clearly recognize me and be pleased to finally see me after all these cycles.

  I was pumped to finally be reunited with my entire family and move forward, leaving the past in the past. I knew we'd have to face Blair Aspen eventually and that would involve Jeffrey and anyone else who were on their side, but at least we'd have time to grow and strengthen ourselves.

  We'd also started our realm search for star knight number six; EliaseAnne suggesting we start with Earthala and Distala since they were closest and Eli was close to Marcus' sister.

  I was excited to get to meet her, Marcus revealing her existence when we were down on Earthala and how she'd be sworn in very shortly, her birthday only two weeks away.

  At least we could head there first and celebrate before heading to Earthala. Now that Scarlet was on board with our status, she and the rest of the criminal investigators on the team could add to our search.

  Everything was coming into place and I was grateful to the Starlight gods. Nothing would get in our way this time and once we gathered all my knights, my parents would officially introduce me to our realm, confirming my existence and survival of Blair's Aspen's plot against the people of Heila.

  "Fine. I guess he is your brother and is strong enough to protect you," Eli grumbled, still not pleased.

  I smiled, picking Nighty up who was still asleep and placed her on my shoulder. Once I ensured she was secure, I walked up to EliaseAnne. "Close your eyes for a second," I commanded.

  She gave me a confused look, but obeyed, closing her eyes. I grinned, biting my lip, but was confident in my next move.

  I went on my tiptoes, pressing my lips gently on her soft pink ones. I felt her body tense at the movement, but didn't take long till her lips began to move— fighting mine for dominance.

  I knew I hadn't had any time with Elias or EliaseAnne since Knightwood and to me, it wasn't fair. I felt awful for neglecting both of them, but was grateful they hadn't pulled away. We broke apart, both of us breathless as we tried to catch our breath.

  "I've been neglecting you and I apologize. I'm still trying to balance everything out and I guess I got caught up with everything that's transpired the last couple of weeks, but we’ll have more time together starting tomorrow. Remember, we have a date," I reminded, smiling at the way her face grew red.

  "So direct," Eli mumbled, but smiled as she met my gaze.

  "I know. Tomorrow, at the waterfall," I confirmed.

  "Yes. I'll bring some manga." She giggled at my excited face.

  "Merry-Go Lucy 2?" I beamed.

  She laughed. "I unpacked it last night. We'll read it tomorrow so Marcus won't interrupt us," she hummed.

  My face blushed at her underlying meaning, making my body thrum with anticipation for tomorrow's date. "You're delaying the meeting. Go on," I pressed.

  "Fine. If I see Xavier on the way, I'll tell him to escort you to the garden, okay. Can you wait in the library?"

  "I could, but I still want to surprise him," I mumbled.

  "Next time, surprise him. Like, put a unicorn float at the entrance of his room," Eli suggested.

  I clapped my hands. "That's a diabolical idea. He'd freak out." I could already imagine it; having analyzed a recent image of Xavier that Kade had shown me during our family bonding time. Eli tied her hair up in a ponytail. I giggled at her confidence, pulling my phone out to take a photo of her.

  "Hehehe my precious." I grinned at the image.

  Eli rolled her eyes. "Let me have one too. I'll make Elias jealous when he wakes up," she proposed, taking her phone out. She slipped an arm around my waist, pulling me into a side embrace as we posed for the camera.

  "I'll use the countdown feature. So we have to stay still for seven seconds," Eli instructed.

  "That's a long time," I commented.

  "It's long for you because you get distracted," Eli pointed out.

  "Maybe," I mumbled. Eli set the timer, my eyes already beginning to wander.

  "Mako."

  "Hmm?" I turned my head at the moment her lips met mine, giving me a quick kiss right when the iPhone snapped the photo. I blushed, watching Eli grin in satisfaction.

  "That...Eli!" I complained, prompting her to laugh.

  "That's payment for being distracted in less than three seconds," she replied. She slid her phone back into her pocket before her other hand reached into her chest pocket, pulling out a pouch. She presented it to me.

  "This is for you," she announced.

  "What's this?" I asked.

  "Remember those beads you bought from the town in Minato with Marcus?" she reminded.

  I nodded. "Ya. The ones the friendly girl helped me find," I replied, remembering the purple-eyed female shifter. I wonder how she's doing?

  Eli nodded.

  "Look inside," she encouraged.

  I looked at the green velvet pouch, opening the gold drawstring before I gasped at the beautiful, beaded jewelry.

  The beads were in an intricate order of colors— the same colors that represented each knight. Each set of colors had two beads; the middle had a silver star charm dangling in the middle. On closer inspection, each star had the letter of the designated star knight— a silver star that I currently glanced at had E for Elias
and EliaseAnne. I looked at the other stars, stopping at the final two beads that were pink and had a gold star charm in the middle. It had the letter M in the middle and when I flipped it to the other side, the letter R greeted me.

  "I didn't know which name you prefer so I put both. One side to represent your past and one for your future. We all know you like Makoto more and it's an identity that holds meaning to your growth so I decided it would be fair to have both. Also thought the M could also represent Midnight. Since you guys are two sides of a coin, I thought it would be cool to use the same saying, but with a star," EliaseAnne explained.

  I immediately put it on, smiling so wide I knew my cheeks would hurt. "It's beautiful, EliaseAnne. When did you get the time to make this?" I asked,

  "I was practicing during my time in the psych ward. Once I tried a mock version I worked on the real thing. Each bead is infused with a little bit of each of our powers. The only one that doesn't is the red beads since we don't know who knight six is. The longer you wear it the stronger the powers will grow and can be used in training or battle," Eli revealed.

  "Wow," I replied, impressed at the work and time inputted in the high-quality piece of jewelry. I looked at the star between the red beads, noticing how it didn't have a letter on it.

  "Whenever we find him I can add his letter," Eli reassured me.

  I nodded, looking up to meet her gaze. "Thank you so much, EliaseAnne."

  "You’re welcome, Princess. Try to keep it with you when we're not around. It's not like your phone that has a tracker, but it has a lot of my magic infused so I can track you. May take a while though," she pointed out, looking up in thought.

  I giggled. "So it's not good for playing Hide and Seek. Good to know."

  She grinned. "Nope. I'd find you with ease," she confirmed.

  Before we could continue talking, she flinched.

  "Ugh. Coming, coming. Jeez, I wasn't flirting. No, I'm not telling her any of you say Hi. Fuck you, too," Eli grumbled.