Letchworth State Park.
The open door pulls my gaze. Matemark dreams aren’t like real life, where details are meaningless. If the door is open here, it means something’s going to come through it.
But what?
From the hallway I hear footsteps.
Damn. I have seconds, maybe, before whoever it is arrives, and there’s nowhere to hide. The springs moan as I hop off of the bed. Whatever’s coming, I’ll face it standing.
The footsteps stop.
From the hallway comes a voice that I know as well as my own, even though I only heard it for the first time yesterday.
“I will see you tomorrow for the changing, Father.”
Orion?
Except he sounds wrong. Not the pitch of his voice, which is just as deep as ever, but the tone. It’s so formal, so restrained. Caged.
I grab the bed frame again for balance and wince at the pricklingly cold metal.
“Artemis.”
A man who is both Orion and not Orion looms in the doorway. He’s got the same tangled blonde hair, broad shoulders and rough, square jaw, but his eyes are different. Instead of flickering like an aurora, they remain a static, glacial blue as they pierce me.
I gape at him. “Orion?”
In one single motion he pushes the door closed behind him and enters the room. “How long have you been here?”
“I don’t know.” I back up against the bed. “I don’t even know who you are.” I gesture to him vaguely. “You look so” — cruel, human, sad — “different,” I whisper.
“Being here has that effect on me.” His lips twist into a sour smile, and he gives me one more probing gaze before he prowls right toward me.
“But where is here?” I stumble back toward the bed, the springs squeaking as they suddenly take my weight. “This is a dream, isn’t it? It’s not real.”
He doesn’t answer, just takes another step toward me. And another. He doesn’t even spare a glance to the space around him. It’s like he’s been here a thousand times before.
“W-what are you doing?” The chattering of my teeth makes it hard to get the words out. As does the fact that Orion’s close enough now that I can see the dark determination sparkling in his navy blue eyes.
“Does it matter where we are?” He stops only an inch away from me, his eyes raking over my body, claiming every curve in a single perusal. “All that matters is getting out.”
A fingernail of cold scrapes up my spine as I press my back up against the wall. “And how are we going to do that? This isn’t my nightmare. If it was, it would’ve ended the moment I saw you, wouldn’t it? That’s how it worked the last time.”
“But it’s not working that way this time, is it, Little Mate?” He leans forward onto the bed. I know he must be heavier than me, he’s certainly larger, but somehow with his grace he manages to move onto it without the springs squeaking. “You walking away from me in the alleyway must have damaged the bond. So we’ll have to try to strengthen it if we want to dissolve the dream.”
“Strengthen it how?” My stomach flips with his nearness. There’s nowhere to go. I swallow and try to scoot toward the other end of the bed, but Orion’s hands come down on either side of me with inexorable slowness.
“Like this, Artemis,” he says.
And then his lips are on mine.
He tastes different in the dream. Sweeter, stronger, and so blessedly warm. For the warmth alone I lean into the kiss instinctively, my numb lips springing to life under his subtle ministrations. I close my eyes, needing more of him, grateful for the way rational thought flees when his tongue teases the edges of my lower lip.
When he touches me I don’t have to worry about anything. Not Lawrence. Not my parents. Not the dream. It all fades away.
But only for a moment. All too soon the cold starts to press in on either side of us and my lungs tighten from the lack of oxygen. I can’t let
The open door pulls my gaze. Matemark dreams aren’t like real life, where details are meaningless. If the door is open here, it means something’s going to come through it.
But what?
From the hallway I hear footsteps.
Damn. I have seconds, maybe, before whoever it is arrives, and there’s nowhere to hide. The springs moan as I hop off of the bed. Whatever’s coming, I’ll face it standing.
The footsteps stop.
From the hallway comes a voice that I know as well as my own, even though I only heard it for the first time yesterday.
“I will see you tomorrow for the changing, Father.”
Orion?
Except he sounds wrong. Not the pitch of his voice, which is just as deep as ever, but the tone. It’s so formal, so restrained. Caged.
I grab the bed frame again for balance and wince at the pricklingly cold metal.
“Artemis.”
A man who is both Orion and not Orion looms in the doorway. He’s got the same tangled blonde hair, broad shoulders and rough, square jaw, but his eyes are different. Instead of flickering like an aurora, they remain a static, glacial blue as they pierce me.
I gape at him. “Orion?”
In one single motion he pushes the door closed behind him and enters the room. “How long have you been here?”
“I don’t know.” I back up against the bed. “I don’t even know who you are.” I gesture to him vaguely. “You look so” — cruel, human, sad — “different,” I whisper.
“Being here has that effect on me.” His lips twist into a sour smile, and he gives me one more probing gaze before he prowls right toward me.
“But where is here?” I stumble back toward the bed, the springs squeaking as they suddenly take my weight. “This is a dream, isn’t it? It’s not real.”
He doesn’t answer, just takes another step toward me. And another. He doesn’t even spare a glance to the space around him. It’s like he’s been here a thousand times before.
“W-what are you doing?” The chattering of my teeth makes it hard to get the words out. As does the fact that Orion’s close enough now that I can see the dark determination sparkling in his navy blue eyes.
“Does it matter where we are?” He stops only an inch away from me, his eyes raking over my body, claiming every curve in a single perusal. “All that matters is getting out.”
A fingernail of cold scrapes up my spine as I press my back up against the wall. “And how are we going to do that? This isn’t my nightmare. If it was, it would’ve ended the moment I saw you, wouldn’t it? That’s how it worked the last time.”
“But it’s not working that way this time, is it, Little Mate?” He leans forward onto the bed. I know he must be heavier than me, he’s certainly larger, but somehow with his grace he manages to move onto it without the springs squeaking. “You walking away from me in the alleyway must have damaged the bond. So we’ll have to try to strengthen it if we want to dissolve the dream.”
“Strengthen it how?” My stomach flips with his nearness. There’s nowhere to go. I swallow and try to scoot toward the other end of the bed, but Orion’s hands come down on either side of me with inexorable slowness.
“Like this, Artemis,” he says.
And then his lips are on mine.
He tastes different in the dream. Sweeter, stronger, and so blessedly warm. For the warmth alone I lean into the kiss instinctively, my numb lips springing to life under his subtle ministrations. I close my eyes, needing more of him, grateful for the way rational thought flees when his tongue teases the edges of my lower lip.
When he touches me I don’t have to worry about anything. Not Lawrence. Not my parents. Not the dream. It all fades away.
But only for a moment. All too soon the cold starts to press in on either side of us and my lungs tighten from the lack of oxygen. I can’t let
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