Page 19 of 3013: Dreamer

Spending the night getting drunk had been good for her. It reminded her that she needed some sort of work-life balance to remain sane. Because of that, she was trying to listen to her friends’ advice to start delegating more and trusting her brothers to take care of their share of the work.

Raek and Fenris swore they would send her updates later if she promised to take the next few days off. She didn’t bother pointing out that they had come knocking on her door at the first sign of trouble that morning, but she didn’t really mind since that had been one meeting worth attending.

It was nice to know her brothers were taking everything she had said the night before seriously. She had agreed to their terms to take the next few days off, though she planned to do a little work from home on the female-only expansion plan.

But first, she needed to get some more sleep.

As soon as she got home, she took a hangover blocker and drank a gallon of water. Programming her security system to bypass her blocks only for emergencies, she threw on an oversized shirt and lowered all of the shade shields on the windows in her bedroom. With only the faint glow coming from the clock on her nightstand, she crawled into the cocoon of pillows on her bed and was out as soon as she closed her eyes.

She just never expected to find herself in the same dream again.

Charm never dreamed about the same thing twice. At least, not that she could recall. Actually, the more she thought about it, she realized she barely remembered any of her dreams. They were like wisps of smoke that were forgotten once they disappeared.

However, this dream felt familiar.

Despite the strange surroundings, she was comfortable and relaxed. The light breeze blowing through her hair felt good, as did the soft grass beneath her bare feet. She sat at the edge of the lagoon and slid her feet into the warm water. The dream pool wasn’t as thick as it was in reality, though it wasn’t the same as Earth water either.

Deciding to enjoy her dream world to the fullest, she stripped off her shirt and slid into the water. She wished the lagoon was real since it would have soothed all of her aches and pains away. It would also heal the injury on her arm. She would have to make a few more trips down to the lake to soak it again so it healed all the way and didn’t leave a scar.

Closing her eyes, she tilted her head back and rested it against a smooth stone. The water was heated to the perfect temperature. The next time a Dragon Warrior visited Evo, she would have to ask them to build her a private little lagoon just like this one. Perhaps that was why she was dreaming of this place.

It had to be wishful thinking.

“You’re here.”

The sound of the deep voice made her slowly open her eyes. Joy and a little fear surged through her at seeing her dream male standing in the center of the lagoon right in front of her. She remembered being impressed the last time she saw him, but those memories were nothing compared to seeing him in the flesh again.

He was a fantasy come to life.

Charm had been around a lot of strong males before, but she had never seen one so beautiful before. He had dark magenta hair and glowing silvery purple eyes that seemed to pierce straight through her. The lower half of his body was submerged in the water, but his glorious chest and well-defined abs were bare to her admiring gaze.

Thin lines of glowing purple light were tattooed on his arms and the sides of his torso. She hadn’t noticed those marks last time. Then again, he had been wearing a shirt during her last dream. She wanted to reach out and trace her fingertips along those glowing lines on his golden skin, but without the liquid courage flowing through her bloodstream, it was difficult to be so forward.

Acutely aware she was naked, she moved her arms in front of her and lowered herself into the water until she was covered up to her neck. She wasn’t embarrassed or overly modest, but she felt vulnerable to his penetrating gaze, which made her a little nervous.

As if sensing that, he didn’t come any closer. Instead, he slowly moved to the side of the lagoon and took a seat a safe distance away from her.

It took her a moment to notice his arrival had brought about several changes. Everything was crystal clear now and no longer covered in that light layer of fog. Added to that, the barrier of clouds had dissipated, and she now saw a massive palace in the background that looked like it had come straight out of a storybook.

“Greetings, Charm. I am very pleased to see you again.”

“Ah…you, too.”

His lips quirked into a smile. “You still think this is a dream, don’t you?”

“Isn’t it?”

“No, it isn’t a dream. At least, not a normal one.”

Her brows furrowed in confusion. “What exactly does that mean?”

“It means this is part dream, part real.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“That may be so, but it’s true. Somehow, you were able to astral project into my dream state while I was meditating. I am as real as you are.”

“What the…” She started laughing since the very notion of that was totally absurd. She sobered again when she realized he was completely serious. “You aren’t joking, are you?”