Blade Song - By J.C. Daniels Page 0,41

around me.

I wanted to cry, but I didn’t dare. I knew better.

“She said she could give you an elixir so you would sleep through it but I will not allow it.”

Biting my lip, I tried not to beg. There was no way I would beg. The last time I’d begged…my back still had the scars.

“Do you not have anything to say, granddaughter?”

I shook my head.

“Good.”

She stood by as the healer broke the bones. And as I screamed, she smiled.

You are dreaming…

I flinched at the sound of his voice.

Jude was the last person I wanted to see witnessing those dreams.

“The absolute last?” he murmured, stroking a hand down my arm. The one she’d broken.

Forcing my eyes to open, I found myself lying on the bed. The dream world was almost painfully vivid and I gasped. I could smell the lingering stench of burnt popcorn—the family next door had burnt some a few hours earlier and it had yet to fade. There were also the familiar scents of lavender and vanilla, coming from the scented rocks Colleen made for me.

And Jude. Sitting by me, stroking a hand up and down my arm.

“You can see into my dreams now?”

He shrugged. “Bits and pieces, yes.”

“Wonderful.” I struggled to move, figured it would take a few more minutes, but to my surprise, I was off the bed and moving in a blink. “Whoa. That’s unexpected.”

Jude smiled. “I tap into your energy when I break into your dreams. Now that there is a link between us, I don’t have to do that and there is no drain on your resources.” He dropped his chin on his fist as he eyed me narrowly. “You’re an odd bird, Kit. Most humans can’t move for hours when I do this. I’d expected I’d have more control over you now that I’d tasted you but…”

A faint line appeared between his brows. “It appears I don’t.”

“I’m not human.”

He shrugged. “You are…in part. You’re not witch, and you’re no shapeshifter. The aneira even show as human in any testing that is done on them, did you know that?”

I shrugged. “And this matters to me…why?”

“Just as I said. You’re an odd bird.” His head cocked and a smile curled his lips. “You’re about to have company.”

I frowned. Two seconds later the door opened and Damon came prowling in.

He moved to pause by the bed and when he looked down, I did the same thing. I had to remind myself that I wasn’t really moving around my room. I was just dreaming. In reality, I was in the bed. Still, it caught me off guard to see myself, lying there. Vulnerable.

The last thing I wanted to be around Damon.

Rubbing a hand over my chest, I focused on the naked back of the shapeshifter instead. He wore a pair of low-slung workout pants and if I didn’t hate him, I might have enjoyed the view very, very much.

“It figures the bastard sneaks in while I sleep.”

“Don’t get your maidenly honor all worked up. He is worried,” Jude said, shrugging, his tone bored.

“Worried.” I snorted. “Probably trying to think of a way to kill me and still get his Alpha’s nephew home.”

“No.” Jude shook his head. “His emotions aren’t murderous.” His lids drooped low, only the thinnest sliver of his glowing green eyes visible. “Your heartbeat slows in dreams and this connection would slow it even more. He’s listening. Takes his job seriously, this one.”

I glared at Damon’s naked back. “His Alpha made him promise he wouldn’t allow any harm to come to me while I was working the job. He actually let her bash his face because she was pissed off at me. By the way, do you know she’s crazy?”

“Annette? Oh. Yes.” Jude’s smile went cold. “She’s very, very crazy. And you…you little fool…went to work for her.”

I was getting so tired of men calling me a fool.

“Is there any reason you’re here?” I asked tiredly.

“I heard your dreams. The terror in them…I could feel it. Taste it.” A strange light appeared in his eyes. “I wondered what could push you to such fear, little warrior. You’ve always been so foolishly brave.”

Disgust, humiliation and rage crowded into my throat.

Jude just watched with that sly little smile. “Ugly, awful dreams you have. It’s no wonder you hate her.”

“Stay out of my dreams,” I said quietly.

He shrugged. “We all have our nightmares, Kit. Yours are just a little more recent than some. Besides, I wanted to test the strength of this new bond we share.”

“There is