The Fae King's Dream (Between Dawn and Dusk #2) - Jamie Schlosser Page 0,6

but I don’t have time to see what happens next because we start rolling.

Over and over, we fall down the incline.

I have no idea how many times we flip. All I know is I’m being battered and bruised. Shattered glass cuts my face and arms. My head is repeatedly hitting something hard, and the only thing saving me from getting my skull busted open is the padding on my headphones.

With a jolt, the car stops, and I’m vaguely aware that the driver’s side is wrapped around a tree. I want to open my eyes, but I feel so heavy. So sleepy…

I can’t stay awake. I’m slipping away, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.

Just as I give in to the darkness, I feel my awareness being pulled back, like my mind is getting sucked through a vacuum in reverse.

Gasping, I open my eyes. My chest rises with quick breaths and my heart pounds as I look at the scene in front of me.

We’re back on the road, just as we were before.

We didn’t crash.

It wasn’t real.

A nightmare.

Mom and Dad are still singing that song together. The windows are intact. My headphones are on, my phone is in my hand, and my playlist is stuck.

Relief washes over me. I must’ve fallen asleep for a few seconds.

Still, it’s unsettling.

I haven’t lost control of my dreams like that in over a year.

Yeah, I decide what I dream. I’m kind of a badass like that. Not to brag, but it’s a big deal to be able to utilize my mind in such a way.

The first time I ever heard of lucid dreaming was my freshman year of college. My psych professor had used it as an example of the power of thought. I was instantly obsessed.

As someone who’s suffered from horrific, vivid nightmares since early childhood, the possibility that I could control it completely changed the way I struggled with sleep. Nighttime became a sanctuary instead of a prison. Every time I dozed off, I could do anything or be anyone I wanted. I built a utopia-like world for myself—an alternative reality.

This was just a slipup.

Professor Radcliff had warned me about times like these. If I fell asleep in unfamiliar surroundings or if I changed my routine, there could be mistakes.

I’m just glad it wasn’t real.

My parents are okay. I’m okay.

I try not to think about all the times my nightmares had some truth to them. How sometimes they were more like visions of the future than harmless dreams.

Because it’s not possible to see what’s coming. Psychics don’t exist.

Besides, I’m not that special. I’m just a weird girl with an overactive mind.

Just as I’ve started to relax, déjà vu hits me. As we go around the curve, I see the same person from before in the road. They’re dressed in a gray trench coat, and the hood is up, shadowing their face.

And they’re small. Like a child.

“What the—” Dad says at the same time I yell, “Look out!”

Whatever I dreamed before happens again, exactly how it played out in my mind a few seconds ago.

Screeching tires.

Crunching metal.

Falling.

Pain.

A jarring stop and darkness.

“No.” A tear slips down my cheek as I fight the irresistible force of unconsciousness.

I should’ve said something sooner. Should’ve told my dad to pull over. Even if he probably would’ve brushed my warning off as a silly concern, it might have saved us. I missed my one chance to prevent this from happening. We’re all going to die and it’s my fault.

So tired… Head throbbing…

I wake with a gasp. We’re driving again. What the hell?

Panting, my eyes dart around, noting the familiarity of a landscape. A crack in the mountainside in the shape of a water bottle. A tree with a broken branch on the left.

In about two seconds, there’ll be a road sign alerting us of the curve.

There it is.

I know what’s coming next.

“Dad, stop the car.”

He doesn’t hear me. He just keeps singing.

“Dad? Mom! Listen to me.” I try to reach forward, but I’m restrained by the seat belt. “You need to pull over. We’re going to crash!”

They don’t respond. Before I can say anything else, we’re turning.

It starts all over again.

And again.

Again.

No matter what I do to try to change the sequence of events, it doesn’t work. It’s like the movie Groundhog Day, only it’s a single terrifying minute on replay.

I’m hysterical as the car careens around the mountain for the fifth time. Or is it the sixth or seventh? I’m losing count of how many times I’ve