Elysium (25 page)

Nik left, and Cadeon watched him the entire time. There was an awkward moment, where I shifted uncomfortably and then Cadeon sat beside me, not as close as Nik, but close enough that I smelled his wonderful scent.  “Have you guys found anything yet?”

He ran a hand over his jaw and stared at the tree, the light reflecting off of his eyes like a mirror. “No,” he breathed out wearily before turning and looking at me. “Have you spoken to Mikhail yet?”

I knew what Cadeon was referring to, but I still hadn’t found the right time, nor did I have the guts to find out what Mikhail was keeping from me. I knew I should go in there and demand he tell me, but there was a part of me which was frightened at what he might say. “No.”

I heard Cadeon sigh, and I looked over. He looked so tired. “I hope you do soon, but I understand your hesitance,”
he said.

We were quiet, but the silence wasn’t awkward. Cadeon finally spoke about our earlier conversation. “There has never been a recorded case where two realms crossed paths like you experienced. Over the ages the Shadow realm has been twisted and morphed into a fairytale, a myth.”

I couldn’t help laugh a little. Cadeon looked at me with a strange expression. “I’m sorry; it’s just it seems kind of weird for
mythical
creatures to have fairytales,” I said.

Cadeon smiled a little. “I guess so, but maybe
humans
are the fabled creatures to us.”

“Hmm.” I could hear the joking tone in his voice, but he did have a good point. “So what are we going to do?”

“Well, until we can find something, Mikhail suggested if this being reaches out to you while you’re dreaming, you should make contact.” I was about to argue, but Cadeon held his hand up and stopped me. “Believe me, I told him I thought that was the lousiest idea he had ever had. Even though you can’t be harmed in your dreams, I don’t like the idea of you interacting with what we don’t understand.”

We were both quiet for a while, and I thought about it, not liking the idea, but not knowing what other options we had. “I think I should do it. It scares me, but you said it can’t hurt me in my dreams, right?”

“No. While you dream, it’s your subconscious creating an alternative world, but that’s what the Shadow realm is, an alternative world.” At my confused look, he chuckled. “I know it sounds confusing, but just think of it like this: your brain creates this other world which only you can go to. Then think about everyone on the world dreaming of their own little worlds at the same time. That produces a lot of power. Those people aren’t all dreaming about the same thing, but they are all using the same connection to get there—sleep.  So all this power is created with nowhere to go, until one day it becomes so huge, it creates its own realm. Once that world is created, a thread starts to form from one’s subconscious to the dream realm. Over time, that thread becomes a rope and then a bridge and then it’s so thick, one can’t distinguish the subconscious from the dream realm. Make sense?”

I stared at him with what I knew was a dumbfounded look on my face. “I lost you at ‘No’.” He chuckled again, and the sound made my whole body tingle. I was aware of how much bigger he was then me, how muscular his arms and legs were, easily double the size of mine, and at that moment I felt insanely feminine around him.

“Well, like I said, over time it became more myth than anything else. There isn’t any hard evidence, well, not that we have, anyway.”

I thought about what he said, finding it scary everyone in the world was connected at the same time, while they slept. That this other realm that we created could house an array of creatures no one knew of. Presumably, they could jump into other’s dreams if my run-in with Rhyker Rulon was anything to go by, but what had really happened in the woods, during the party? Would I ever even find out? Cadeon’s deep voice brought me out of my musing.

“So, Nikolai visits you?”

It was weird hearing him say Nik’s full name. I shrugged. “
Sometimes. We like the same movies and music, so he stops by with his collection of DVDs and CDs.” At Cadeon’s brooding look, I added, “Violet also comes by.” I hoped that would make his sour look go away, and it did, but only marginally.

He was quiet for some time after that and then, he stood, holding his hand out to me, like a peace offering. I took it, and he walked me back to my room, both of us stopping in front of my door and staring at each other. It was getting close to dawn, and everyone was going to bed, but I didn’t want my time with Cadeon to end. “Do you want to come in?” It felt strange to ask him, like I was doing something lewd, but I would have been happy to play chess with him, if it would have given me a little more time to be with him. I thought he would say yes and my heart stammered, but when he shook his head, I let my shoulders fall slightly.

“Believe me, it isn’t that I don’t want to spend time with you, but it would be inappropriate for me to come into your room.”

I wanted to tell him he had been in my room plenty of times, but I noticed how he kept tightening his fists, his knuckles turning white from the force of it. I wondered how much he was holding back, and I felt a little thrill of excitement. I nodded and opened my door. “Okay, well, goodnight.” I turned and started to step inside, when he put his hand on my shoulder and stopped me. I turned around, my heart beating so fast I thought for sure he could hear it.

He took a step towards me and his hand cupped my jaw, tilting it back slightly. I watched him come closer to me, and my breath stalled. I hadn’t kissed him since the dance, but that seemed like ages ago. When his lips touched mine, they were almost hesitant, but soon grew hungry. He wrapped his arms around me, his mouth devouring mine, as I stumbled backwards and farther into my room. I thought he would break the kiss, when he realized where we were going, but his kisses became fierce. The door swung shut, and I felt the edge of my bed hit the back of my legs. My heart raced, and I knew I should stop, but I didn’t want to.

He broke the kiss, dropping his mouth to my neck and panting. “I should leave.”

I knew I should agree with him, but of course I didn’t. “No, I don’t think you should.” His arms tightened around me as he started to kiss my neck, his lips warm and soft as his hands ran up and down my back.

“I’ve been trying to control myself, Meadow, I swear I have. I see the way the other guys look at you.”

His words thrilled me and made me hot. We fell on the bed, me on my back with Cadeon’s body covering mine. We started kissing again, and it was then I heard his heart beating. I felt my fangs lengthen and gasped when Cadeon’s tongue swiped over them, cutting his tongue and letting his sweet blood fill my mouth. He made a sound in the back of his throat, a noise of need and arousal.  He ripped himself away from me, taking several uncoordinated steps backwards as he breathed heavily.

“I really should go now.”

I swallowed hard. I could see the way his gaze would jump from my mouth to my neck. “No, you don’t have to. I want this, Cadeon. I want to be with you completely.” He made a strangled noise as he stared at me with half lidded eyes. I thought he would come closer, but he took another step back and then turned towards the door. I got out of bed and walked up to him, placed my hand in the middle of his back, the muscle bunching beneath my touch. “I’m sorry.”

He turned around, grasping my hand and bringing it to his mouth for a soft kiss. “You have nothing to be sorry about.” He closed his eyes, his jaw clenched tight, as he let my hand go. “I want to be with you so bad, Meadow, but I don’t think I’ll be able to control myself.”

I got hot, and I took a step towards him. “Maybe I want you to lose control.” I didn’t know why I was saying the things I was, but something inside of me went wild, and a part of me wanted to be unleashed. His breathing mimicked mine, fast and erratic. My hands skimmed his muscular arms, and we stared at each other. I tingled everywhere, and it was a feeling I remembered all too well.

I was vaguely aware of the room becoming hazy, the edges shaking, as if an earthquake were rocking Arcane Manor. Cadeon’s dreamy expression changed, and his eyes widened as he stared at me. I felt myself get pulled back, as though hands were wrapped around me. I tried to reach for Cadeon, but as hard as I tried, he was out of reach. I saw his mouth moving, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying, couldn’t hear anything, except for the ringing in my ears. He grew distant, and I could see he was reaching for me, just as I was for him. I was suddenly submerged in darkness.

I tried to see where I was, the invisible hands no longer pulling me backwards. I felt the hard ground beneath my feet, but I couldn’t see an inch in front of my face. A soft white light began to illuminate the room, and I gasped at what the light revealed.

I stood in the center of an opulent bedroom, silks and satins adorning everything, the soft light from hundreds of candles around the room making everything ethereal. I turned around and took note of every plush thing adorning the room. I gasped when Cadeon materialized in front of me, his smirk like nothing I had ever seen.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Meadow.”

His voice was deep and low and sent chills through my body. I got hot and then gradually became hotter, my skin prickling and tingling. As we stared at each other, everything tumbled away, until it felt like it was just him and me in the world.

Cadeon grabbed my hands and brought them to his lips for a soft kiss. Music played all around us, soft and sweet and telling of two lovers in an embrace. I know things weren’t right, knew I should worry, but I didn’t care, didn’t want to worry about anything but being with Cadeon. He looked at me with longing and took another step towards me, his eyes scanning every inch of me.

I swallowed as he started to unbutton his shirt. My pulse pounded so fast and hard, I knew he heard it. He took his shirt off and let it fall to the ground, his chest so muscular I couldn’t help but stare at it. His hands went to his belt, but before his pants fell to the floor, he was in front of me.

Cadeon started pulling my shirt off, as our mouths fused. I ran my hands over his chest, knowing this was how it was supposed to be, how I was supposed to feel. We made our way towards the bed, falling onto the mattress, as we continued to kiss passionately.

Cadeon broke the kiss and trailed his mouth down my neck, breathing roughly, as he mumbled against my throat. “You smell so good, Meadow. You don’t know how long I’ve wanted this.”

I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe as we kissed again, our hands fumbling with our clothing, until we were naked, all thoughts of shyness and awkwardness pushed away. I only thought how wonderful it felt to be held by Cadeon, and how my first time would be with someone I cared about.

Cadeon leaned back and smiled at me, running his fingers down my cheek and whispering how much he wanted me. Just as I was about to tell him how I felt, the room grew hazy and transparent, Cadeon’s form disappearing before me.

I was no longer in the opulent bedroom, but now stood in a dark forest, the trees all around me standing eerily still, as the dull glow of the moon pierced through their branches. I was completely dressed again, my feet bare and the soft blades of grass tickling my toes. My desire for Cadeon had dulled, and I now realized something was terribly wrong. I turned around in a circle, large trees surrounding me in every direction. I wondered if I was dreaming, if before things became weird none of this was real. In front of me, silhouetted by the moon stood a large figure, and, although I couldn’t see the face, I already knew who it was.

Rhyker walked, until he stood only a few feet away from me. I didn’t move, and, although I was frightened, I didn’t let him see it. He looked as he did in the book about the Cimmerian War. He smirked at me, maybe able to tell me I was hiding my fear, maybe not. He walked around me, his eyes scanning me, until I felt my skin prickle. His long, black duster scraped along the ground, his hands clasped behind his back. He stopped in front of me and extended his hand.

“Won’t you walk with me?”

I looked at his hand and then at his face, taking a step back and looking around. “Where am I? How did I get here?”

“Come with me, Meadow.” As he spoke, that same sweet aroma floated through the air, and I reached for his hand. “You brought yourself here.”

His skin felt cold, like I was holding a piece of ice, but there was no pain. The wonderful smell dissipated, and I tried to pull my hand away, but his grip was too strong. I didn’t know what he meant by that, but I remembered the warm and tingling feeling which encompassed my body. It was the same feeling I had in the woods, when Rhyker tried to grab me and take me into the darkness. He held my hand, and I had no other option but to follow him, and as far as I knew, Rhyker Rulon could be leading me to my death.

Rhyker took me through the thick cluster of trees, until the land opened up in front of us and we were standing in a beautiful field. I remembered it from one of my dreams, the first time Rhyker had used my feelings towards his advantage. The tall grass blew in the breeze, like waves in the ocean. The burning tree was no longer here, but in its place stood one of ice. I stared at its beauty, the thick crystalline trunk transparent, with tiny specks of diamonds clustered inside. The leaves were also made of ice, but they appeared thin, as if the wind would break them in two. Just then, as if my thoughts had conjured it up, the wind brushed by, the leaves on the ice tree tinkling and making the most beautiful sound.