Year Two: Rebels - Cara Wylde Page 0,62

be the father, he’d been in surprisingly good spirits. I wouldn’t have expected it from him. Again, I should’ve probably been happy. But this was all so new and terrifying that I couldn’t think straight. Most of the time, I didn’t even know how I felt.

“Yeah, do that,” I mumbled under my breath.

Corri flew around for a bit, then settled on top of the headboard. Some of her pixie dust landed on my pillow. Davien and Seth had both found some chairs and brought them near the bed. Adrian had opted for the couch. As usual, he was trying to stay away from my two other lovers. I couldn’t tell if he was doing it because he felt like they were beneath him, or because he was simply jealous and didn’t want to see me with them. Adrian had guarded me before, and he’d done a great job, too. Now, he was happy to observe from a distance.

I settled as comfortably as I could and started to relax my body, beginning with my toes and ending with the very top of my head. Soon, I fell into a light sleep, and from there, into a dream. First, I became lucid inside the dream, then I took it a step further by figuring out where I was and how I could control my environment.

I found myself on a beach. It was summer, the sun was up in the sky, and the waves were whispering softly at my feet. I was alone. My feet were bare, and I could feel the warm water seep through my toes. As it retreated, fine, white sand took its place. I must have been in a universe connected to mine, but I wasn’t sure which. The season was different, which meant the timeline was not the same. I could’ve been in a parallel dimension that was in the past, or one that was in the future. It didn’t matter to me, really. All I wanted was to check that I could dream travel after what I’d gone through at the Karmic Asylum, and that it was safe. I soaked in the sun, the soft breeze playing in my long blond hair, the sand, the water, and the exquisite peace. I needed this, so I decided to stay here for a while and simply enjoy it all. Not one cloud in the sky, and I didn’t mind it. I didn’t want to shield my eyes from the sun. On the contrary, I felt like my body needed to absorb as much light and heat as it could. Of course, the body I’d materialized to interact with this world wasn't the one lying in my bed, sleeping and dreaming. But everything that happened to my intentionally solidified etheric body could be felt by the one I’d left behind. The thought soothed me. I realized that I could feel both my bodies, and I was aware that I was in two places at once. This was a good sign.

I walked on the beach, my bare feet leaving footprints the calm waves came to fill in seconds. I couldn’t tell when I became aware of another presence beside me. At some point, I could see that there was a second set of footprints appearing next to mine, but it was as if the person leaving them was invisible. I stopped, and the footprints stopped appearing, too. I wasn’t scared, though. The presence seemed to be benevolent. More than that: it seemed to be someone I knew.

“Who are you?” I asked, and I felt my lips moving in my home dimension as well.

“I am Eliana. You can call me El.” The voice belonged to someone young and feminine.

“I don’t… know you.”

“Not yet.”

“But I feel like I do.”

“You will know me soon.” She giggled. “In nine months.”

“What?”

“Let’s keep walking, mother. It’s a beautiful day.”

My feet moved on autopilot. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that the invisible girl had called me “mother”.

“You don’t understand,” she said. “That’s okay.”

“Why can’t I see you?”

“I haven’t decided on a look yet. But I have decided on a name, so… I think that’s progress.”

“I’m so confused right now. You’re my daughter? My unborn daughter?”

“Yes. And I’m a dream traveler, like you. I’m asleep now. We’re asleep together. I thought I’d join you in your dream.”

“Oh God…” I touched my face, my forehead, my temples… I wanted to make sure that I was real. If I was real and I was here, then she was