I yelled as I shot up in bed and looked around my room. The sun wasn’t up yet, and I flopped back to the pillows. That dream was so real, just like the others I’d been having lately. These weren’t like the fever dreams I had where I hardly remembered anything afterward.
These dreams, it was almost like I was there with this young woman. Emry, that was her name. As I looked at the ceiling, I pulled on everything I could remember. She was still in a cage, but this time, those cloaked men and the guard who hurt her were going to do something with her blood. I’d reacted and attacked, giving her a chance to escape.
“And now you sound like you’re losing your mind,” I muttered to the darkness in my room. “Dreams, Mason, they’re just dreams.”
I threw my arm over my face as I told myself that, but my hands could still feel Emry’s warm skin and the torch I’d wielded as a weapon to help her escape. These dreams weren’t disappearing as soon as I awoke. They had stayed with me, each one more intense than the one before. I was growing attached to Emry. Some part of my mind said that was crazy and impossible and extremely unhealthy. She wasn’t real. None of what I saw was real. Not like I could talk to anyone about them anyway. After being so sick for so long, the second I admitted to anyone I was feeling off, they’d all panic again and find a way to make me stay behind.
But I wasn’t. I was finally setting out on my own, away from the valley and everyone here, all who were blessed with magic.
I closed my eyes to get a bit more sleep when my alarm went off. “Figures.”
Today was my last day of work at the diner in the valley. Tomorrow, I was heading off to college. I climbed out of bed and gathered up my clothes to hop in the shower. I moved out of Mom and Dad’s house a while back and lived with a couple of other guys my age. After the sickness finally disappeared, I had to get away from Mom. She hovered around like any second, I was going to fall ill again and potentially die. Living with Ted and Roger had made my life interesting, to say the least. They were dragons, and though they didn’t rub it in all the time, there were moments I couldn’t help but get annoyed at them. I hid it well, though.
As I opened my bedroom door, I jumped with a curse, coming face to face with Ted. He was rubbing the back of his neck and cringing, his brown shaggy hair a mess. “Morning,” I said slowly. “Something wrong? Why are you even up already?”
“Didn’t mean to, but heard you—uh, scream,” he said quietly. “You alright?”
I planted a smile on my face. Damn. I didn’t think I’d been that loud when I woke up this morning. “Yeah, just a bad dream,” I lied, not ready to tell him about Emry or the adventure taking place inside my head when I fell asleep.
I’d been worried. I hadn’t seen Emry in over a week. For a while, I wondered if I was done dreaming about her and a weird pang had started in my chest. Man, I really needed a life if I was missing a figment of my imagination.
Ted was nodding but didn’t seem too convinced. “So, last day at the diner, huh? You sure you don’t want to stick around the valley a bit longer? This place is going to be boring without you to stir up shit with.”
“Nope, I think it’s time I get away for a bit. Mom’s about ready to drive me to crazy town.”
He followed me to the bathroom. I expected him to keep walking and head back to bed, but he stayed, standing in the hall, studying the floorboards.
“Ted, if there’s something else you need to say, just say it, man.”
He sighed and mumbled quietly, but I didn’t catch it. I raised my brow, and he exhaled. “When you moved in with us, your sister came over with Slade, and well, they told us to keep an eye out for you. After that sickness and all, I think your family’s been on edge. You’ve been good though, and I swear we haven’t been giving them updates on you,” he added in a rush when I frowned.
“And?’
He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else than in that hallway having this conversation. “I don’t want to pry or anything, but that’s not the first time you’ve woken up like that.”
I paused. “It’s not?”
“No.” He hesitated, but then said, “Just wanted you to know. Your nightmares, whatever they are, they sound intense. Everest told us how bad it got with the fever and all. I just want to make sure you’re alright.”
“You mean am I sane enough to go away and be around other normal people in case I go all crazy?” I didn’t mean to snap, but when Ted refused to meet my gaze, I knew that was exactly what he was thinking. “Sorry. I get it. Thanks for telling me and not my family. I’m good, really. Just the usual nightmares. Keep thinking I’m flunking out of my classes and all,” I lied, hoping this time I sounded more convincing. “First one to go to college. Not like I’m going to turn out to be some great savior, right? Have to prove my worth somehow.”
“Mason, no one cares you’re not magical.”
“Yeah, I know, but sometimes I do, you know? It’s fine, though, I’m going to go be around my own kind. And I promise nothing weird is going on with me. I have to get to work,” I said and stepped into the bathroom.
I heard his steps going away and glared at my reflection in the mirror. Why would Slade and Everest think I needed someone keeping an eye on me? The whole time I was sick, they hovered around me like I was going to suddenly implode. Then, when I was finally better, they tiptoed around me, asked my friends to watch over me.
It wasn’t their cautiousness that got to me. I saw the hint of disappointment in their eyes. I might’ve imagined it. At least, that’s what Slade told me one day when I finally confessed my annoyances to him. I was probably disappointed in myself really, that after all that crap of being sick and feeling like something was trying to crawl its way out of me, I was still, normal, boring Mason.
I’d never told him about the dreams. What were a few crazy dreams compared to the hopes that I was going to turn out to be a dragon after all? That, and I selfishly wanted to keep the dreams to myself. My own slice of adventure that just sadly wasn’t real.
Once I was showered and had on my jeans and a white t-shirt for the diner, I opened the bathroom door slowly. Ted had gone back to bed. No one was in the kitchen when I walked through the ranch house. Good. It was my last day and though I wanted to make sure I had a chance to talk with my friends and family before I left, the dream from last night left me feeling uneasy. My walk from the house to the diner had me constantly glancing over my shoulder as if someone was watching me. If I concentrated hard enough, I could feel that torch, when I took out those cloaked men. My bare feet remembered what that hot stone floor had felt like.
And Emry. It wasn’t hard at all to remember the feel of her warm, smooth shoulder against my palm, or how she curled into my chest like I was the only person keeping her alive.
A whisper rushed past my ear, and I paused, certain someone had called out to me.
The fight sounded in my ears again, and her face was there plain as day. I rubbed hard at my eyes, but it didn’t help stop the strange urgency I suddenly felt to go find her. Something was wrong. She’d gotten out. At least, I hoped she had. I’d woken up too early, to see if she escaped. What if she was hurt again? What if it was worse?
“Right, because she’s real and you’re really starting to act like a crazy person,” I grumbled to myself. “Just get through your last day and get out of here. That’s all you need. A change.”
As hard as it was, I pushed aside any thoughts of Emry from my mind and reminded myself over and over they were just dreams. I’d go to college and find a real girl to talk to, flirt with, and not someone I’d have to fight off a bunch of dragon guards to keep safe. That would be better, right?
By the time I reached the diner, my mind was a mess, and I was anxious to up and leave today, not wanting anyone to catch onto my sulking and confused mood. The bell rang above the front door as I opened it and stepped inside right as the clock hit seven.
“Morning, Mason,” Gerald, the owner of the place said as he waved from behind the counter. He was an older Shadowguard dragon with a pot belly, white beard, and the loudest laugh I’d ever heard. “Last day, huh? Guess I can’t talk you into staying?”
“Not a chance,” I said with a laugh as I went to take my place in the kitchen. We’d be opening in a half hour, and I spent my days back at the grill, cooking.
“Had to at least ask.” He patted me on the shoulder, but frowned. “You alright? Look like you didn’t sleep much.”
“Just excited for tomorrow.”
“And tonight,” he said, then whistled as he walked away.
I stopped tying my apron on at his words. “What’s tonight?”
“The party. Didn’t your sister tell you?” Gerald laughed.
“No, she did not.”
“Ah well, should be fun anyway.”
Right. Fun. Leave it to Everest not to let me leave the valley quietly and without disrupting everyone. I set the kitchen up and made ready for the first round of early morning customers. It was a Sunday, so it’d be busy, which was good. The busier I was, the less time I had to think about my most recent dream. Or about Emry’s fate.
Around noon, after I came back from a quick fifteen-minute break, I stepped into the kitchen as Dad call my name. I found him sitting at the counter with several other Shadowguards.
“Morning,” I said as I set out coffee mugs for them, then filled them.
“How’s my soon to be college kid doing?” he asked with a bright smile, but I saw the worry beneath it.
“Doing just fine. You didn’t have to come check up on me. Apparently, I’m going to be seeing you tonight anyway and half the town.” Dad hid his face behind his coffee mug.
I leaned against the counter annoyed. “The whole town?”
“What? They all love you and just want to see you off properly.”
“Right, and you’re not hoping they’ll manage to convince me to stay?”
He shrugged.
“Uh huh, nice try, Dad. I’m still leaving tomorrow.” I picked up the next few tickets and impatiently turned my attention back to my job.
Every now and then, I glanced up to see Dad chatting with everyone who came into the diner. I sensed he was keeping a close eye on me. Another reason why I couldn’t wait until tomorrow. I might not live with my parents anymore, but they were always watching me. Hell, even my roommates had orders to keep an eye on me—just in case I don’t know—I lost control?
The rest of my shift dragged by and I found myself thinking about the dream that had me waking up and shouting. That’s all it was though. A nightmare. Nothing more. Tomorrow, I was leaving, and everything would be fine. Just had to get through tonight. One more night.
“You’re going to be late to your own party,” Slade yelled as he came down the hall.
I grunted, tossing another pair of jeans in my bag. “Yeah, and? I didn’t need a damned sendoff you, you know.” I threw more clothes in just as Slade appeared in the doorway, an amused grin on his face. “What?”
“Nothing, just wondering what’s wrong with enjoying a party that’s all for you.”
I sat down heavily. I’d been feeling like this for months. Last year, I thought something major was happening to me. I’d been sick, feeling off. I got my hopes up that maybe I wouldn’t end up being the only one in the family without magic. Even Everest had finally been able to shift into dragon form.
And here I was still boring Mason, nothing but Everest’s little brother.
Only I wasn’t little anymore. I was eighteen, finally heading off to college because I convinced Mom and Dad that leaving Leora-Pierce Valley would be good for me. But my school wasn’t some magical college. Nope, just plain old boring college with normal students and professors, and normal, boring classes. I fell back on my bed and glared at the ceiling.
The real reason I hadn’t left the house yet though was my mind had turned back to Emry. I wanted it to be night so I could have an excuse to fall asleep and see her again. It was like an itch I needed to scratch. Dream or no dream, I was worried she hadn’t made it out, and when I fell asleep tonight, she’d be back in that cage. She’d be hurt. This party was just going to drag me away from time I could have to see her.
And I if I confessed all this to Slade, he’d fetch my sister, and they’d haul me over to the clinic to see what was wrong with my head.
“I don’t want to go,” I finally said.
“Alright, what’s eating you?” Slade asked as he walked over. “Everest said you’ve been acting like this for the last few months. You’re not feeling sick again, are you?”
He reached out like he was going to place his hand to my forehead but ruffled my hair instead as I sat up to shove him away. “No, I’m not. Think you’re falling into dad role a bit too hard there.”
He shrugged. “Such is the life.” He sat down next to me. “Spill, what’s going on?”
I hung my head, working at what to tell him since anything about Emry was out of the question. “I just… I want to go away, you know?” I settled on and ran with it. “I want to be around people like me. I love my family, my friends here, but I’m tired, Slade. I’m tired of having magic and dragons thrown in my face all day every day. Just a reminder that somehow, I’m the odd one out. I’m weird.”
“Then shouldn’t you be excited to go?” he asked, brow furrowed in confusion.
“Yeah, I should be, but I don’t know. It’s like admitting I’m always going to be plain old Mason. This sucks,” I mumbled and fell back again as Slade chuckled. “I fail to see what’s amusing.”
“It’s not a bad thing to not be a dragon or have powers.”
“Says the leader of the Shadowguard dragons.”
“Yeah and? There have been plenty of times when I wished I wasn’t. You know how much pressure I’ve been under since I was born?” He shook his head, and I sat up, seeing a side of Slade I never noticed before. He appeared older, much older than when we all first met. “Honestly, if it wasn’t for your sister by my side, I don’t think the war would’ve ended the way it did. None of us would be here. Trust me, Mason, sometimes not having to deal with magic is a good thing. Enjoy it. The rest of us never did have a chance at a quiet life.” He squeezed my shoulder then stood. “And if you don’t get your ass outside to that party, your sister’s going to march in here and rip you a new one.”
I rubbed a hand over my face and looked around my bedroom after Slade left. It’d been nice to be on my own, but still close to home. I spent almost a month arguing with my parents until Everest finally stepped in and said I should go if I wanted to go. Hence the party she decided to throw, a big send-off for her baby brother.
“Guess that’s it then,” I said to my room as I dropped my bag on the floor by the door.
I’d head out first thing in the morning and see what new, boring adventure I could find away from magic and dragons. At least my dreams would keep me entertained unless those dreams decided to suddenly stop, too. I hoped they wouldn’t.
“I’ll see you again, Emry,” I whispered, then rolled my eyes at how stupid that sounded.
I turned off the light and followed Slade outside.