176: Living Nightmare

176: Living Nightmare
\[Ona\]

Unable to stand still, I pace back and forth in the grand gallery, watching the storm clouds gather on the horizon. Primus and Carnelia have been gone for over a week and I have no idea how much longer they will be gone. By now they've either found one another and reconnected or killed one another based on the glare Little Sister was giving her mate when they left together.

It is strange, being in this dream all alone, waiting for a sign. Time has no real meaning here. Without the two of them to interact with, it feels like my part of the story is merely an afterthought. This castle only exists because they need it to exist. Once they are done with this part of the dream, this reality I exist in will cease to be necessary.

I hope to be long gone before that happens. I do not want to see how I might change if the dream changes around me.

With no better way to spend our time, each afternoon and early each morning I come to observe the road for any sign of my wayward brother and his unwilling bride. So far there hasn't been any trace of them, although the cloud of smoke I saw the night before leads me to believe that they must have found the dragon after all.

I have power in this dream state to shape reality but only in small amounts, or so I thought. In declaring there is a dragon to capture, did I somehow curse the dragon into being?

The clouds I am observing have begun to shift even faster than before, and in the distance, I see the silhouette of two dragons in flight.

No, I did not create a new dragon from my mind. They finally found the truth.

And it only took a nudge from me in the right direction, forcing them to spend time with one another.

"Sometimes the old tricks are the best tricks," I chuckle as I watch the dragons transform one by one into something new. First I see a starburst of sunshine followed by a beast of flame burning through the sky in all the colors of fire--from yellows and oranges to the purples and blues of intense heat. It is a beautiful and terrible sight.

"But Primus doesn't have a fourth form," I watch in wonder, my lips twisting upward as I shake my head in disbelief. "None of us did."

And yet, didn't I receive mine just before falling into this dream? Maybe they didn't come to us sooner because we weren't ready for it.

"Or maybe, the world wasn't ready for us to have them yet. Now that there is a need, we have found our way."

A war is brewing. Soon, we will be in the center of it. We will need all the strengths we can bring if our family is to survive it.

The castle shakes and rattles with force as Primus finally catches his mate, roaring as they fall. As the lovers crash into the spire, stone bricks fall from above to crash into the rooms below, leaving shattered rock and broken glass. Dodging a large boulder that lands just a few steps before me, I leap out of the way, chuckling.

"Easy now," I coach from below shaking my head at the couple above me. "No need to take the place down."

And for the first time in a long time, I am not alone. Not just because of the couple lost in passion above my head, but because I have a new visitor. Someone I have been expecting.

Without turning, I smirk as the presence at my elbow steps closer. "I was wondering when you would show up."

"I would have come sooner, but the waking world needed me more," he explains as his dream form solidifies. "How fares our dreamers?"

"Ready to awaken, I think." The rattling above stops suddenly and the castle stills. They must have either taken flight again or switched to a gentler form to mate. "They have found one another again," I sigh looking over at the Elf King. "Finally."

He nods approvingly. "Good. We don't have much time to waste. You need to emerge soon to nest and things in the castle have become...difficult. Your children need you, Ona Majere. The world needs your guidance as the Celestial Queen."

"How do we start?" I am eager to be free of this place but without his guidance

"For us, it is easy, we simply have to want to be awake. We can blink from this reality to the next. The dream hasn't taken us over as completely as it has them."

The sounds of their lovemaking echo through the hallways. Somehow during the time we have been speaking, they made it down from the spire to the second floor.

"We need to make a door for them," he explains. "A way out. Do you know where the dreamers lie?"

Guiding Thalan to the guest rooms, I stop where Primus and Carnelia are resting, arm in arm, nestled against one another like a pair of spoons. Primus is protecting his mate like a proper drake, His wings wrapped around the two of them, hiding her from sight.

With his finger, Thalan begins to trace words in the ancient language of the celestials, a language long forgotten by everyone except, perhaps, the dragons of the moon. Everywhere he touches, the symbols flare to life, glowing the bright blue of the dream paste and sky stone. He works quickly until his words stretch up, around, and down the arch of their bedroom door.

"Once their rest is complete and their minds are set, all they need to do is walk through this door together and their dreaming will end." His peaceful expression softens as he watches the lovers sleep.

"And will we have them back? Will they be themselves?"

"Yes," his smile expands, "However, I have a feeling they will come back to us with more than one surprise."

Like the fire burning through the sky. Will Primus retain his 4th form when he emerges from this living nightmare?

"Shall we leave these two for now, and greet them on the other side?"

Looking around one last time, I take a deep breath and close my eyes as I take his hand.

Gasping, I open my eyes.

I know I am home, or back in reality at least, by the smell of the burning fire by my feet and the feel of the pillows beneath my hands. Stretching my arms, I extend my talons, sprouting scales along my forearms.

Yes, this is real. Thank the gods.

"Daax," I try to sit up but notice that it is harder to do than it used to be. Looking at my belly I can see why. I'm maybe a day or two away from laying my eggs. How long was I gone? It must have been weeks. It only felt like days inside the dreamscape, but in reality, I lost weeks. Weeks I will never recover.

"Thalan," I call out hoping someone can hear me, "Orion? Kora?"

Rolling over onto my side, I see Primus and Carnelia are still sound asleep, but now they are curled into one another, his arms and wings protecting her. Smiling, I see that my efforts were not in vain. It is worth every struggle to know they will be returning. Our family will be back together no longer under the thall of the false queen.

With a lot of effort, I manage to sit up straight, propping some pillows behind me. It has been so long since I've used my legs, and my body has grown so ungainly as my clutch blossomed within me, that I am not sure I will be able to stand or move much without assistance.

"Daax?"

Only silence welcomes me and a chill runs up my spine. The room looks different. Something happened while I was away. Something important. The smell of blood, no longer fresh and mostly cleaned, burns my nostrils and terror grips me. 4

The door creeps open.

"Orion?" I whimper in pain as I try to stand. "Kora?"

"They are occupied," a warm voice calms me as he walks through the door. "Your son's mate almost lost her entire clutch a few days ago," he explains. "And now she is resting, hoping to grow strong enough to carry her remaining eggs long enough for her to lay them in the sea. Although she is considering a more Terran nesting now that her clutch has grown so small."

"Is she going to be okay?" My heart is saddened as I think of the struggles they must have endured these last few days. I send a wave of sympathy and love through my bangle to my son.

A flicker of surprise shoots toward me followed by an overwhelming sense of grief. I can almost see through his eyes the emotion is so intense. He refuses to leave her until he knows she is safe but is grateful to learn I have returned.

"She will heal," Thalan responds. "But she will never be okay. Not after having so much life taken from her."

"As...ah..."I struggle to breathe. "As soon as they awaken, we need to get back to the Celestial Realm, or at least I do. I need to nest. I should have been nesting already."

"We have another complication as well," Thalan informs me of what happened between my son and his mate's brother and I feel the color drain from my face.

"We need to get out of here as soon as we can. Today if possible," I surmise. "How long do you think your...that thing you did to the servant's mind...how long do you think that will last?"

"For the rest of his life if needed. The problem is, he isn't the Prince, and if anyone tests the illusion, that will become evident quickly. It isn't a long-term fix. Besides, something or someone will come looking for him soon. It would be best if we are far away before that happens."

I nod in agreement. He holds his hands out to help me stand when a ripple of pain makes me fall hard onto my knees.

"I think," I gasp, "we need to....ahhhhh...."

The time to fly home has passed. I need to nest. Now.