Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Aiden stared down at the dagger. He’d slept with it under his pillow for years to keep Morgan out of his dreams. Aiden had nightmares about him, but that was a version of Morgan conjured up from his mind, not the real thing. Deactivating the spell would leave him open, and as Maggie had warned him, dream walkers could kill you in your sleep.
Even if this wasn’t some kind of trick, Morgan might be waiting for the spell to drop, and he’d pounce on Aiden the second he was asleep.
If Aiden could even get to sleep with his anxiety cranked so high.
This might be his only chance to contact his fae family. Faery was closed off from the human world and had been for centuries. Crossing the border took a lot of power, and it was risky. If Aiden managed to find the right spell, he could get stuck over there or leave a hole open for other people to get through. Maybe someone like Morgan.
Visiting in dreams at least kept everyone else safe. That probably wouldn’t be a comfort to his parents if they found him dead when they came to wake him.
Aiden took a deep breath and shook his head. He shifted the small iron dagger, watching the light bounce off the polished blade. It was dull—a symbolic weapon rather than an actual one.
He’d been practicing and had gotten good at lucid dreaming. At first it happened days apart, almost at random, but now he’d managed it three mornings in a row. I’ll have my magic with me. He wouldn’t be defenseless. If this was a trap, Aiden would be able to wake himself up, and he’d be even more powerful in his dreams than he was in real life. He’d tested it out by flying, changing the weather, making the sun rise and set. It was the next step up from lucid dreaming—full control.
I’m ready. He repeated that to himself as he got up and moved to the far corner of the room. Setting the dagger on a shelf, he touched it with one finger. A brief zap of magic removed the protection spell.
Aiden pulled the curtains closed and climbed into bed. He tried to focus on the hope of seeing his birth mom rather than the fear of encountering Morgan. For hours, he tossed and turned. And then…
* * *
The path wound through huge old trees, sunlight cutting through the bright green leaves. It smelled like spring melting into summer, everything fully in bloom. Something tickled at Aiden’s mind.
He was supposed to remember… remember…
A bright orange bird landed on a low branch ahead of him, and awareness flooded Aiden’s mind. The bird was his talisman, a signal to let him know he was dreaming.
The forest was warm and beautiful, but a shiver crawled up his spine. This was the hyperreal kind of dream that meant a dream walker was here. Aiden turned in a tight circle, looking for danger. If he saw a huge oak tree at the end of the path with a shadow lurking under it, he was out of here.
Slowly he started down the path again. It shifted slightly to move around a huge tree or through a cluster of bushes but kept to a general straight line. Aiden glanced around him, looking for any sign of Morgan.
The trees thinned, and he stepped out into a clearing. Wildflowers in brilliant colors surrounded him, filling the air with sweet scent. It was strangely familiar, though Aiden figured it was because of the dreams with Morgan. This forest was very similar to the one he’d been in before.
A woman stepped into the clearing. Long brown hair flowed around her, woven with bright flowers. Just like Tiago had described her. “Aiden?”
He prayed this wasn’t a trick. He wanted this so bad it hurt. “Mom?” Tears stung the back of his eyes as he took a few steps toward her.
Her face broke into a smile, and then they were both running. Aiden ran into her arms, the smell of her surrounding him—flowers and sun-warmed leaves.
“Aiden.” She breathed his name into his shoulder. She was a little shorter than his other mom, the top of her head at about the level of his nose.
“Is it really you?” His voice was thick and watery.
She stepped back to look up at him. “Oh child, don’t you feel it?” She took his hand, wrapping their fingers together.
Magic pulsed between them. Hers felt exactly the same as his own magic did—a warm, bright energy. Aiden recognized it down to his bones, in his blood.
“Mom!” He hugged her again, tighter this time.
Years of wondering where she was, if he’d ever get to see her. “Why did you give me up?”
“My sweet child.” She wiped tears from his cheeks, her thumb as gentle and comforting as that of the mom who’d raised him. “I had to, to keep you safe—”
“I cannot hold much longer.”
Aiden started, looking over at another woman standing a few feet away. That must be the dream walker, with long red hair as Tiago had described.
As much as Aiden wanted to know what his birth mom meant by that, another question burned in him. “What about my brother? The human you traded me for. Is he okay?”
His mom smiled. “He is fine. Grown into a strong young man, like yourself.”
Aiden let out a breath. Around them, colors had started fading from the grass and flowers. “And my dad?”
Her expression darkened. “Your father… does not know of your existence.”
“What? Why?”
She put a hand against his chest. “I will explain later. I need you to do something for me. Our connection is weak. The dream walker has difficulty holding it. There is a spell surrounding the place where you live. If you can bring an object, a flower or a leaf, that has touched this spell—”
“It’ll make the connection stronger.” Aiden’s chest tightened. Déjà vu. Was this a trick after all, or was this part of dream walker magic? “A dark fae tricked me into doing the same thing.” He looked over at the dream walker. Was she a dark fae, or could light fae have that kind of magic too? He didn’t get the same creepy vibe from her as he’d gotten from Morgan.
His birth mom gasped. “A dark fae? Did he hurt you? Are you all right?” She gripped his arm, eyes wide. If she was faking it, she was a damn good actress.
“I’m fine. But how do I know this isn’t another trick?”
The world around them had turned black and white, all except for the two women standing in bright contrast. “You know the truth in your heart, my son.” Her blue eyes seemed to burn into him. They were the same eyes he saw in the mirror every day.
They were the last things he saw before everything went black.