“Then I will,” I stood up, determined.

“Absolutely not,” he also stood up to face me, adamant. “There is absolutely no way you will go to that trial. You will not set foot in that country, or outside of this town. Do you understand?” his voice was raised and he ordered me around in a way I had never seen him behave.

“You have no say in the matter. If you are not willing to do what is right, then I will.”

“I have every say in the matter. As your Prince I demand that you remain in your house the entire time I am gone. In fact, I am placing you on house arrest until I return,” he was so angry and so determined that his face was red and I could see real emotion behind his eyes, but instead of trying to understand him, he only made me angrier.

“You can’t do that,” I shouted, stamping my foot.

“Yes I can, and if you push me I will leave Guards at every door and window,” his voice once again softened, but the hardness to his tone was unmistakable.

“I wouldn’t have to push you if you would do what any decent person would do! You have the power to save her, to give her another chance, but you’re wasting your influence. Instead of placing me on house arrest, why don’t you help someone who actually needs it!” I knew I had gone too far, the look that crossed Kiran’s face was pure anger. I closed my mouth, unwilling to step down, but too afraid to say anything more.

“Do not question me,” he seethed. When I opened my mouth to protest he held up one hand and I was silenced. “Do exactly what I say or I will have you thrown into prison. Do you understand?” when I didn’t respond, his voice turned even colder. “Do you understand?” I nodded, but just barely.

Kiran brushed past me with a chilling coldness that made me regret everything that was just said. He blew open the gates with one blast of magic, sending the ten foot, chain link fence flying. I watched silently as he stormed back towards the school without ever glancing again in my direction.

Chapter Thirty-Six

I was there again; wandering the same beautiful and colorful forest, looking for the same person who was meant to share this place with me. My fingers slid over the wildflowers, their velvet petals bending to my touch. A warm breeze swirled around me, sending petals dancing through the air and invoking an intoxicatingly sweet aroma.

I heard the brook beyond the trees whispering sweetly as it ran over rocks and white sand. The sun shone brilliantly in the clear sky above, sending beams of light through breaks in the trees and making a sort of polka dot path of light for me to follow. Butterflies and fireflies buzzed around delicately, their presence was comforting.

I saw him in the distance, his strong build a stark contrast to the delicateness of the forest. The light played off his skin, illuminating him through the flowering trees. His blonde hair glistened and his blue eyes pierced my soul.

Even in this dream like state I was nervous and excited. My emotions flooded my senses, leaving me overwhelmed and confused. As I walked slowly closer to him I saw that he was only wearing a pair of baggy, gray sweatpants, his chest bare. The muscles from his neck to abdomen were clearly defined; I took in the sight of him and was left breathless.

Kiran waited patiently for me to approach. His face was a mixture of emotions, none of which I could define. He stood alone, a grove of trees encircling him. The space was too small to be called a meadow, but was hollowed out by a perfect ring of forest surrounding it. He leaned against a tree opposite me; and gave me a saddened version of his smirk.

I stopped short of entering the circle, a little afraid of him but more afraid of what he wanted. His eyes appraised my entire figure before he let them fall intently on mine, beseeching me with words not spoken. The silence was so beautiful that I was afraid to break it with even the smallest sound.

After several moments of what began to feel like a pained longing, Kiran approached slowly, gently. He closed the empty space between us, pulling me into his arms and holding me close. The fears I had just felt, the apprehension that made me careful before, melted away and I let his energy consume me.

Our magic united together in an excited aura of frenetic energy. His closeness made me dizzy, his scent had me lightheaded and the warmth of his skin against mine felt as though my soul was strangely complete. I could never have left that moment and it wouldn’t have been enough.

Kiran tipped my chin up so that I looked directly into his eyes. Leaving his fingers firmly on my chin, and with his other hand on the small of my back pulling me tighter to him, his lips found mine in glorious connection. Time stopped moving forward and the world stopped spinning and for the seconds my mouth was connected to his, I felt utter bliss.

“Eden!” Avalon screamed through the beautiful perfection of my dream, ripping me out of it in a most unpleasant way. “Eden!” he shouted again fully shaking me out of any sweet memories remaining.

“What?” I shouted back, groggy and disoriented.

“Wake up!” he said again loudly, too loudly.

“Why?” my voice was hoarse and scratchy and I could not get past confusion.

“Ummm….” Avalon struggled for a reason. “I need your help.”

“What? With what? Can’t it wait?” I turned over in bed, burying my face into my large feather pillows.

“Yeah, I guess,” he started to leave my room, but then burst through the door again. “No, it can’t wait. Come on, get out of bed,” he ripped the comforter off of me, leaving me freezing and pissed off.

“Avalon! Get a life!” I yelled, fully awake and fully angry.

“Come on,” he pleaded, not the least dismayed by my irate tone.

“What could you possibly need help with?” I asked, rubbing my eyes to make my alarm clock clear: 3:00 AM.

“Will you please help me pack?” he sounded like a little boy and I couldn’t help but feel pity for him.

“Do you really need help? Can’t this wait until tomorrow?” I sat up and pulled my knees to my chest. My teeth were chattering and my entire body had goose bumps.

“Yes, I really need help. And no, it can’t wait, I leave tomorrow,” he said the magic words. My eyes popped open and I was suddenly very awake.

He left tomorrow? That was impossible. But then again, tomorrow was the last day of mid-terms. Everyone else had already been long gone. The teachers hadn’t been there all week and several students had been missing as well. One student in particular hadn’t been at school since our fight in the stadium.

If Avalon left tomorrow that meant I had run out of time. Lilly’s trial was only thirty six hours away and I had in no way been successful in my quest to rescue her. So far I was a failure. I crawled out of bed and grabbed a sweatshirt before following Avalon to his room.

“You can’t be so careless when you’re asleep. Geez, Eden,” Avalon whined as we entered his room. At one time you could see the floor of the guest room, but that was before it officially became Avalon’s. Clothes and shoes and who knows what else littered every inch from wall to wall.

“What do you mean?” I asked groggily, rubbing my eyes again. I did my best to bring the room into focus, but I was still fighting sleep.

“I can’t save you every time you fall asleep. I need to sleep too!” Avalon was his characteristic dramatic self, but I had no idea what he was talking about.

“Save me? I don’t need you to save me. Especially when I am sleeping," I touched my fingers to my lips remembering the sweet and intimate moment I shared with Kiran just before I was awoken. Our souls mingled as one, and our magic melding to form one powerful stream of unbreakable force; in my dreams we were meant solely for each other. “Um, until you can keep him out, you for sure do need me to save you.” Avalon rolled his eyes and then walked over to his closet to dig out a black duffle bag.

“What do you mean keep him out?” my throat closed and my blood turned hot with nervous energy. It was not possible…. but then so many things I had assumed were impossible had proven me wrong.

“Out of your head. I mean you do a good enough job during the day, but come on. Really? No one wants to monitor that garbage,” he threw the duffle bag on the bed and started gathering random items off of the ground.

“Avalon I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I raised my voice impatiently and stomped my foot like a child. I was wide awake now.

“What? Are you telling me that Amory didn’t warn you?” Avalon’s face turned white as he spun around and gave me his full attention.

“No. Now explain,” I demanded, arms crossed, glowering at Avalon like it was his fault.

“Kiran can Dream Walk. That wasn’t just a dream you were having, that was real,” Avalon spoke softly and slowly.

“What do you mean real?” I shrieked and then slunk down on the bed next to Avalon. We wore the same facial expression and our faces were the same color of white.

“He’s a Medium. They have the power to call you out while you’re sleeping. Your body stays where it is, but your mind goes to a place of their choosing. You are fully conscious, fully awake, and you should be fully aware. That is if you know what’s happening to you,” he finished quietly.

“So that place Kiran takes me to, is a real place? He is really there, he is really….” I couldn’t finish my sentence, embarrassed to say out loud the memories I had thought were only vivid dreams.

“Well, kind of. It’s a place he has created for you at least. But yes, he is there, not physically but mentally.”

“Oh dear,” I slouched lower, realizing I might have been sending mixed signals. Or was I receiving mixed signals? Now that I had to take into play not only our physical interaction but now our metaphysical interactions I felt more confused than ever. The last time I was with Kiran he yelled at me and then stormed off; however if you count the dream I just had it was our most intimate moment so far. I missed human boys.

“So you didn’t know this entire time that it was real?” when I shook my head negatively, he began to flip through my memories. I let him, since I was as nervous as he was to find something I might have said that not only implicated him, but the entire Resistance. “From now on you have got to be more careful. You should be strong enough to protect your mind from him,” Avalon said exasperatedly, but then breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t find anything incriminating.

“He was definitely trying to get information out of me,” I remembered the questions he asked about my identity and cringed; thankful I was as clueless as he was.

“That’s not all he was trying to get out of you,” Avalon mumbled under his breath. My face turned bright red, and I covered it quickly with my hands.

“I didn’t know it was real,” I defended myself. “I thought it was a dream!”

“Hmmm…. I wonder why Amory never told you. That stuff can be dangerous,” Avalon’s face had returned to his normal color and he bit his thumb nail in deep thought.

“What do you mean dangerous?” I asked as Avalon stood up and began to rummage through clothes and shoes, looking for items to toss into his bag.