“Get away from him, Eden.” She rammed into Darius to break us apart. The impact tipped over my weaving bag, scattering thread, flowers, and several bottled dreams onto the floor. The sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the room. In the brief, taut silence that followed, I knew everything was over.
The storm hit like a volcanic eruption as the magic from the dreams exploded, pushing us against the wall with its incredible force. Sizzling power swirled through the room like a fierce hurricane, leaving no surface undisturbed.
It was as if the real world had been swallowed up and consumed by a dream. Bright pink hearts and rose petals from Angel’s romantic rain—contained in the jar Darius had just returned—fell like snow, books soared around the bedroom, and stars transformed one by one into butterflies. The world from Angel’s recent candy land dream materialized all around as lollipop trees grew along the walls, gumdrop bushes crowded the corners, candied flowers sprouted from the furniture, and a thin river of lemonade twisted around Maci’s cradle and seeped through the cracks in the floorboards.
I was faintly aware of Stardust’s shouting and Darius’s swearing, my attention eclipsed by Maci as she stirred from sleep, her drowsy blue gaze taking in her now enchanted surroundings. She blinked, seeming to sense, even at her young age, that the rules of reality had been broken. Her gaze took in a pink heart that had fallen into her cradle before her attention was drawn towards the ceiling, where more continued to fall. Her eyes locked with mine, and with a cheerful giggle she stared up at me. My stomach lurched.
I’d been spotted.
Darius gasped and desperately stood in front of me in an effort to shield me, but with him invisible to her, the attempt was futile.
After a few moments of gawking curiously at me, the novelty of seeing a floating stranger and dreamlike objects in her bedroom evidently wore off. Maci scrunched her face and began to cry, her screams reverberating around the magic-drenched bedroom. Seconds later, the sound of Maci’s mother’s approaching footsteps pounded on the stairs.
I was vaguely aware of Stardust tugging my arm and of Darius’s frantic shouts. Slowly, his blurred form came into focus, his eyes wild as he pointed towards the window. “Her mother’s coming. You have to leave.”
I couldn’t move. Hypnotically, I watched the dreams interact with the Mortal World, my heart pounding furiously as my mind tried to fully comprehend the consequences of this moment.
“Hurry, get out of here.” Darius pushed me towards the window. “I’ll take care of everything.”
When I remained unmoving, Stardust scooped me up and flew us outside, where we hovered near the roof, out of sight but close enough to hear Maci’s bedroom door burst open and the exclamations of surprise and confusion from her mother.
The magnitude of what had just happened washed over me. I buried my face in Stardust’s frothy body and sobbed.
All my efforts to belong, as well as all my hopes I’d painstakingly stitched together since arriving, had unraveled. I could feel the last grains of sand trickle down the hourglass measuring my time here, drawing my stay to a premature close. How could I have deluded myself into believing I could ever fit into the Dream World, especially when I’d never before fit in anywhere else?
It was over. I had failed.
Who was I? Did I belong anywhere?
We were halfway to the Dream World when the summons came. Stardust spotted it approaching us and sped up to avoid it, but it immediately gave chase. Stardust darted this way and that, changed directions mid-flight, even flew in loop-de-loops, but nothing could evade the summons’s persistent pursuit. My fate was sealed.
“Don’t worry, I can outfly it,” she panted.
And although the idea of running away was appealing, I knew I couldn’t escape, especially when I had nowhere to hide.
“It’s alright, Stardust,” I said, and she finally slowed.
The summons skidded to a stop and bounced impatiently against my hand, heavy and imposing when I picked it up. With a deep breath I slid open the message I knew would change my life forever. It twirled out and formed into ribbons of cursive scrawl:
The Council is waiting. Come immediately.
Chapter 34
Flickering lanterns lit the familiar Council Chamber, casting dancing shadows across the solemn Council, who encircled me like a tight noose. Head Dreamer Galaxy stood in the center, his grey eyes flashing as he studied me, the Investigations Team draped behind him on both sides like a small army. A protesting Stardust had been ejected from the chamber by two burly Investigations Team members, leaving me alone, where I’d been waiting for over an hour, my nerves escalating with each passing minute. Finally Galaxy rose.
“Dreamer Eden.” His voice echoed ominously off the glass walls that imprisoned me. “The Council detected a massive surge of magic from within the Mortal Maci’s bedroom on Earth, magic that defies the natural laws of our world by being able to be seen by both the young Mortal and her mother. Such magic is beyond our current knowledge, as normally Mortals are incapable of seeing magic. We don’t take such unusual power lightly.”
Trinity’s words echoed in my mind. The Council is afraid of any magic different than their own, especially when it’s of far greater power. Goosebumps prickled my arms, as if all the glitter on my skin bit me with icy teeth.
Two Investigators stepped forward, their arms laden with sweets, fallen stars, and glowing hearts; an enchanted book managed to wiggle from their tight hold to flutter towards the domed ceiling.
“We’ve had quite a night trying to clean up your mess,” Galaxy said. “One we’re still seeking an explanation for. Luckily, the child is young enough that she’ll soon forget the event, but her mother is a different matter entirely. After she fainted, we sent our most
