She huffs, which only manages to infuriate me further. I bypass my counting and charge through her door; it shatters on impact.
When she jumps from the bed, I make myself stay put. My body ignites from one look at her. My being here is not the best idea right now, but I cannot make myself leave.
Luckily, the terror in her eyes quells my fervor. As it should be, she recoils away from me, backing toward the bathroom.
Calm down. I have to calm down. Daegan’s influence still has not left me completely.
I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. “How did you get into my room?” I ask. My voice is harsher than I want it to be.
She laughs, and it takes quite a lot of effort not to throttle her. When she finally gives me an answer, it’s not what I expect. “All I did was ask the door to open, and you’re acting like I just committed grand theft auto!”
I cross the distance between us in less time than she can make it into the bathroom. I don’t want to have to crash through another door, so I stop her. I expect her to scream when I grab her shoulder. She doesn’t.
Her eyes ice over before she looks from my face to my hand. “Let go of me, you freak!”
“Freak, am I? I’ve been called many things in my time, but freak has never been one of them.”
“Well, bully for you.”
“Amelia.”
She stares me down. “Seth.”
What I want to do right now is crash my lips against hers just to prove she’s still here, she’s real. I stop myself when I am a few inches away. She stares at me, bristling, but nothing she does will keep me from hearing the feral beat of her heart and the tension in her breath. “I need you to understand something very important.” I take her to the door and thrust a finger toward the flames. “I am not the worst thing out there. Within my realm, you are safe, but the moment you crossed into the Dreamscape, you were targeted. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
She sneers at me. When she yanks on her arm, I let her go. For now. “All I want is to go ho…” Her words die and she grits her teeth. “I just want out of here, okay?”
“No.”
“No?”
“You heard me.”
“Yeah, but I thought you might be reasonable. I don’t even know where we are. I don’t know what’s going on between you and that guy and those…things. I don’t really even care. It’s not my fight. Just let me go, and we’ll pretend this never happened.”
“But it has happened. You belong to me now.”
She shakes her head, her face taking on a pallor that highlights her trepidation. When she steps away from me, I’m reminded of how much she fears me, despite her bluster. As tasty as it is, her fear is not what I desire. It is not what I need.
If she will only give me a chance to show her, to explain, she will want to be here—I know it in my blood.
Her back is pressed to the wall, and she looks like she is going to either kick me or pass out.
“Please listen to me,” I coax, taking a step back. “I promise to give you answers, and I’m sorry for upsetting you, but you don’t know how much danger you were just in?”
Her expression morphs into pure desperation. “The only danger I need to worry about is you! You got me into this. Just let me go!”
I lower my head, not able to take the panic in her eyes. “I cannot. You need to accept this.” The truth is I need her to accept me.
Seth wants me to accept this. What does that even mean?
Am I supposed to just give in? Am I supposed accept that other guy too? He was pure wrongness wrapped up in a pretty shell.
Speaking of pretty shells…Seth scares me more than I want to admit. It’s not that I think he would physically harm me. I’m more worried about keeping my wits.
A chill slithers down my spine, but I keep my cool. I’m waiting him out. I haven’t said anything to his demand that I accept this life because there’s really nothing to say.
He sits down on my bed, and I can’t quite believe how good he looks there.
Man, I wish he was ugly.
He smiles at me knowingly, so I figuratively wipe the drool from my mouth. I’m so stupid sometimes it kills me. When he motions for me to sit beside him, I scoff and slide down the wall to the floor, stretching my legs out in front of me.
His voice is soothing after being stuck here alone. Even though it wasn’t that long, it might as well have been days. “I know you still aren’t ready to accept the inexplicable things you’ve seen here,” he says, “yet how many times will you have to see before you believe?”
I make like I’m picking something out of my teeth. “It’s no longer a matter of accepting this reality. It’s about my survival. That guy…those things. I can’t even wrap my head around what they are.”
He shoves his fingers through his hair and takes a deep breath. “I had hoped to delay your introduction to the Erobos, even prevent it, but the minute you walked through that barrier, you took away most of our options.”
My back stiffens. “So now this is my fault?” I ask, mustering up the courage to look at him again. He sits there, still, with that knowing gleam in his eyes. What he thinks he knows about me, I’ll probably never find out; even still, I’m determined to prove him wrong. “Mind telling me how any of this is my fault? You brought me here. I don’t want to stay. I’d say this is your fault.”
He shrugs. “Does it matter? Now that the Erobos know about you, they will not stop looking for you again. Once they find you they will attack,” he says, his voice guarded. When my eyes bulge out of my head, he waves me off. “With one impetuous move you have changed the course for many people.”
I pull my knees to my chest and try to find an angle where he is wrong. “Look,” I say, my patience transparent at this point. “The truth is, I didn’t believe you. I’m sorry for messing up your plans, but I hardly think what I did could ruin your world.”
His blue eyes narrow at me and for a moment I’m lost in those volatile depths. “It is your world I fight for, Amelia. Do you think there is a single crevice you could hide in where Daegan wouldn’t find you? You’re deluding yourself. And here I thought you wanted the truth,” he says, making a sliver of fear shoot through my heart. There has to be a way out of this.
I glance at his dog, who just peeked into the room, to distract myself. “I do.”
He cocks his head, his blue eyes dancing with fire. “Would it surprise you to learn my entire team has been waiting for you? Would it surprise you to know I had planned on showing you everything and now I cannot risk taking you back into the Dreamscape for fear we will be ambushed on sight? Would it surprise you to know you have more to do with this plan than you remember?”
“I don’t know what the heck you’re talking about,” I say, darkness overwhelming me.
“That is because you do not listen, because you are too impetuous and refuse to see truth where it lies. I wanted to show you something important, but now I am not sure how I can. The complications are endless now.”
I steel my resolve again and grit my teeth. “If I’m so much trouble, just let me go.”
“I’ve already told you I have no way of granting that request, even if I wanted to, which I do not.” His head shakes, but he tilts it back and smiles. “You are such an insistent one. Where would you go if I could let you out of here, assuming Daegan didn’t accost you the minute you passed through the barrier?”
I smirk at him, pushing thoughts of darkness and Erobos out of my mind. “I’d find a place.”
He chuffs out a laugh. “With Roberto?”
I nearly gag, partly because that’s just gross and partly because I hate that he knows about my friend. “You’re sick.”
He leans against the pillows, twisting a smile at me. “Maybe, but I’m offering you more than you’ve ever had in your life.”
I glance at the wads of cash littering the floor, and so does he. There’s more than enough dough for Roberto’s restaurant he always talke
d about opening. I only wish I had a way to give it to him. “Yeah, everything except my freedom.”
“If there were any other way, I would—” Seth shakes his head. “No. I’m not going to lie to you. Every so often I am able to break free of my prison. I’ve learned to use the very limited time I have wisely. This time, I came for you. I’ve been waiting years to have you here with me, and I will do everything in my power to keep you here for a very, very long time.”
My throat seizes on a choke. I can’t breathe for a second, but I recover before he can reach me. “I don’t think I want to know the depths of sickdom you’ve sunken to. Just figure out a way to let me go.”
His voice dips low. “Don’t you want to know why I chose you? Don’t you want to know why Daegan wants you, would kill to get you? Please, just listen to me. After I have finished, you may choose to believe what you will, but until then I ask you to keep an open mind.”
I don’t want to care about Seth or his war. I don’t want to get involved in something that could end my life, and I don’t want to be curious. But I am, and as much as I’d like to deny it, it’s sort of nice to be wanted.
My lips press together, and I nod. “I’ll keep an open mind, but I want to know it all. Don’t lie to me anymore.”
Lie to Amelia? I have not set out to lie to her at all, yet her very demeanor tells me she does not trust me. She will in time.
“We should talk. I have much to explain and to show you. We might be more comfortable in my room, unless you’d like to lie here next to me?”
Her eyes dart to the door while her fingers curl into the carpet. I want more than anything to set her at ease. Unfortunately, she will not have an easy life with me. My mind spins with the reality of the situation. I can hardly believe how one simple act could change the course I must take. Her training will be difficult and even then I do not know if I will ever dare send her into the Dreamscape.
Daegan couldn’t have been clearer in his purpose. If Volos is after Amelia, she is truly special. Rhea’s golden eyes form in my memory. She was extraordinary, but she was not Sibylline. I am still not certain where Amelia’s bloodline originated, which complicates my decision even further. Hopefully Kelsby has found the source of her gift.
Finally, she looks up. Her intense expression could mean many things, but I choose to believe she has accepted her role. Her voice is infused with a steady calm her expression belies. “I’m ready…to hear it all.”
I nod and offer her a hand. To my surprise, she accepts. The tips of my fingers tingle from her touch, but I release her once she is stable. I had hoped to have years to train her, yet now, there is no telling how long we will have.
Once we are back in my quarters, I take my chair, watching Amelia drape herself over the couch. At any other moment, I would want to be near her, but not now.
Now is the time for truth. It is time for me to persuade her that she was already in this fight years ago.
Astonishingly, she stretches out, pulling a pillow behind her head and rolling to her side, facing me. She focuses on the firewall, her gaze growing distant after only a moment of staring. In all the excitement, I have failed to release the flames.
I get lost for a time in the flickering barrier as well. “It took many years of daily practice for me to learn to command them.”
“Years?” she asks, skepticism punctuating her question.
I laugh. “Some of us have to work for that which comes naturally to you.”
“I wouldn’t say any of this is natural.”
“Not for some,” I agree.
She frowns. “Who is Volos?”
“The simple answer? The creator of the Netherworld. Volos, in essence, made connections between worlds and realms where none existed, making our job much easier. He was once our greatest ally and leader. It was when he opened the world the Eros occupied that our reality shifted to critical.”
Amelia glances at the flames again. “What are Eros?”
“They are the shattered remains of one being that was cursed and eventually transformed from substance into energy.”
“Why was the being cursed?”
“Eros has many legends that have found their way into the Netherworld. He was a being of great power, capable of great mischief that eventually got him into trouble.”
Her eyes light with a curious spark. “What legends are you talking about? Come to think about it, the name does sound a bit familiar.”
“It should. Eros is love.”
“But love isn’t dark.”
“It can be, if jealousy slithers into it.”
“So who cursed him?”
“His wife.”
A slight frown puckers her brows. “What’d he do?”
“Eros was known for creating havoc between the gods.”
“Like Greek gods?”
“Doesn’t matter what you call them. They are the same beings. They are responsible for much that has happened to your world. They are also the reason Oneiroi were sent to protect humans.”
“Who sent you?”
“I still haven’t told you what Eros did to deserve his curse.”
“Don’t want to tell me, huh?”
“We don’t remember. Our memory before this world was erased when we came here.”
“But how do you know what happened to Eros?”
“Interaction with humans and other species through the Dreamscape and Netherworld.”
“This is too complicated. I’m never going to remember all this stuff.”
I smile at her. “You shall remember this.” She rolls her eyes, but doesn’t comment further. “Eros fell in love with a mortal.”
“Don’t they all?”
“Yes, well, this mortal captivated him and he succumbed to her charms. The two begat a child, but Eros was cursed before he could hold his offspring. His wife cursed him to long for a love he could never have.
“He hid the mother and child on the Earth, where his wife could not touch them, and tried to live the life he had enjoyed for so long. No amount of mischief could erase his pain, so he turned to creating love for others he could not have himself.
“In time, his need for love consumed him until he sought to steal the love of those he had enchanted. His curse overtook him and in an effort to escape, he shed his physical form. He became energy only, but energy needs a conduit. Without his shell, he shattered. Some say he still searches for the body he discarded.”
A disgusted twists pulls Amelia’s lips. “That’s horrible.”
“Yes, well, over the millennia the remains of Eros have turned to darkness completely, breeding chaos in each realm they infest. When Volos opened their prison, most fled into the Netherworld; however, a host stayed behind and invaded Volos, perhaps to attain physical form again. Some think the Eros search for a vessel strong enough to hold them all, even if it is not his original form. Apparently Volos did not meet that measure.
“Once infested, he sought council with our leaders; however, the darkness had already taken hold. He was isolated and evaluated. Eventually, attempts were made to remove the creatures from him. The Eros that were extracted found hosts in those who had tried to aid him. In mere minutes, they began to change as well.
“It was determined that the best course was to create a barrier between the Netherworld and the mortal realms, which is called the Metaspace. It was a necessary precaution, but the harsh environment and isolation caused desperation for those with no hope. We kept watch over the Metaspace until our numbers began to dwindle.
“By that point it was too late. The Eros had breached our barriers into the Netherworld. In essence, they advanced on our unlocked back door. We were so concerned about the mortals that we failed to protect our people and the connections they had to the Netherworld fell to the Eros once they were converted.”
She gives me a dubious look. “I’m going to pretend I understood the majority of what you just said. Why is everything so complicated?”
“Darkn
ess has nearly won, Amelia. You can change that. You can shift the odds back in our favor. Before Daegan learned about you, I planned to teach you how to dampen your light. We desperately need willing recruits, but we cannot make the connections we need to find them without you. One of my brothers has a recruit as well, but as talented as she is she does not possess the level of power you do.”
“Power? What are you talking about?”
“I know of no easy way to explain this to you. Dreams are an important part of human life. They help the mind make sense of the world. They help dispel the darkness from the soul. You have a special talent for dispelling darkness, Amelia. Your soul is brighter than any I have seen, which has been more than you can imagine.”
She scoffs. “I’m nowhere near perfect. I don’t look for trouble, but—”
“Perfection is not meant for mortality. This is the time for you to choose sides. By the time you die, you will either seek the light or the darkness.”
“So let’s pretend all of this is true. What do we do now? Daegan knows about me. I won’t be able to find your key, and we will be stuck here until we die.”
“Once you crossed into my realm, you became immortal.”
She laughs. “Right, so I will live forever?”
“Humans cannot comprehend the longevity of the soul. The vessel of the soul may change, but the soul is forever. It is only substance that corrupts and must be controlled. Immortality means you will retain your physical form; however, that does not preclude you or me from getting hurt. At least in death, pain stops. For Oneiroi, we can regenerate, yet we feel. We bleed.”
She runs her fingers along the edge of a cushion. “And I am like you now?”
I frown, worried about the choice I must make. “Almost. Unless we are mated, if you return to the mortal realm, you will be fully mortal again.”
Mated? So many emotions roll inside me. The word mate mixed with Seth sends a zing through my belly. Heat branches out in my cheeks until I have to glance away from him. I don’t look away fast enough to miss his smile. I cringe, not because his smile alarms me, but because seeing it makes my heart ache for a man I will never have.
“I’m sorry,” he says, his voice soft with compassion. His smile reminds me of Jason in a strange way. In fact, he has many of the same mannerisms, which is really disturbing. I’m starting to wonder if Jason is one of the brothers Seth mentioned, but why wouldn’t he have come for me himself if that were the case? If Jason were real, I don’t know what I would do. “I have no desire to make you uncomfortable. I am merely attempting to explain things to you.”