Free Dreamscape by Christie Rich

set out to lie to her at all, yet
her very demeanor tells me she does not trust me. She will in time.
    “We should talk. I have much to explain and to show you. We
might be more comfortable in my room, unless you’d like to lie here next to
me?”
    Her eyes dart to the door while her fingers curl into the
carpet. I want more than anything to set her at ease. Unfortunately, she will
not have an easy life with me. My mind spins with the reality of the situation.
I can hardly believe how one simple act could change the course I must take.
Her training will be difficult and even then I do not know if I will ever dare
send her into the Dreamscape.
    Daegan couldn’t have been clearer in his purpose. If Volos
is after Amelia, she is truly special. Rhea’s golden eyes form in my memory.
She was extraordinary, but she was not Sibylline. I am still not certain where
Amelia’s bloodline originated, which complicates my decision even further.
Hopefully Kelsby has found the source of her gift.
    Finally, she looks up. Her intense expression could mean
many things, but I choose to believe she has accepted her role. Her voice is
infused with a steady calm her expression belies. “I’m ready…to hear it all.”
    I nod and offer her a hand. To my surprise, she accepts.
The tips of my fingers tingle from her touch, but I release her once she is
stable. I had hoped to have years to train her, yet now, there is no telling
how long we will have.
    Once we are back in my quarters, I take my chair, watching
Amelia drape herself over the couch. At any other moment, I would want to be
near her, but not now.
    Now is the time for truth. It is time for me to persuade
her that she was already in this fight years ago.
    Astonishingly, she stretches out, pulling a pillow behind
her head and rolling to her side, facing me. She focuses on the firewall, her gaze
growing distant after only a moment of staring. In all the excitement, I have
failed to release the flames.
    I get lost for a time in the flickering barrier as well.
“It took many years of daily practice for me to learn to command them.”
    “Years?” she asks, skepticism punctuating her question.
    I laugh. “Some of us have to work for that which comes
naturally to you.”
    “I wouldn’t say any of this is natural.”
    “Not for some,” I agree.
    She frowns. “Who is Volos?”
    “The simple answer? The creator of the Netherworld. Volos,
in essence, made connections between worlds and realms where none existed,
making our job much easier. He was once our greatest ally and leader. It was
when he opened the world the Eros occupied that our reality shifted to
critical.”
    Amelia glances at the flames again. “What are Eros?”
    “They are the shattered remains of one being that was
cursed and eventually transformed from substance into energy.”
    “Why was the being cursed?”
    “Eros has many legends that have found their way into the
Netherworld. He was a being of great power, capable of great mischief that
eventually got him into trouble.”
    Her eyes light with a curious spark. “What legends are you
talking about? Come to think about it, the name does sound a bit familiar.”
    “It should. Eros is love.”
    “But love isn’t dark.”
    “It can be, if jealousy slithers into it.”
    “So who cursed him?”
    “His wife.”
    A slight frown puckers her brows. “What’d he do?”
    “Eros was known for creating havoc between the gods.”
    “Like Greek gods?”
    “Doesn’t matter what you call them. They are the same
beings. They are responsible for much that has happened to your world. They are
also the reason Oneiroi were sent to protect humans.”
    “Who sent you?”
    “I still haven’t told you what Eros did to deserve his
curse.”
    “Don’t want to tell me, huh?”
    “We don’t remember. Our memory before this world was erased
when we came here.”
    “But how do you know what happened to Eros?”
    “Interaction with humans and other species through