Hey everyone, below is an excerpt from my book, Within a Dream. I've also included a blurb! Below is also a link to where you can read the book for FREE! Please check it out, because books with the most reads/ratings on this site get checked out by the staff, which can possibly lead to a publishing deal! :)
Blurb:
Lily likes being a witch. Sure, aside from floating pencils and telepathically communicating with her three best friends, there aren’t many real perks. Until it brings two of the hottest guys she’s ever seen into her life. Of course, there are always strings, and this one comes in the form of a prophecy foretelling her saving, and eventually ruling, a realm she’s never heard about in this lifetime. With dark fey suddenly hunting them down, Lily and her friends are forced to make a decision, complete the prophecy or turn there backs. If that isn’t enough stress, Lily also has a choice to make of her own. Trust in their brooding dark haired guide, Larkin? Or the golden dream stalker Ronan? One claims he’s her soul mate. Both want her back in a realm she can’t recall. What’s a girl to do?
Link:
Excerpt:
“I like it.”
Lily blinked and found herself
shrouded in darkness. When she sat up, she realized it was everywhere, just a
pitch black room with no end in sight. She was confused over how she was able
to see because there was no obvious light source, but then it hit her: this was
a dream.
She relaxed some, and rose to her
feet, twisting in a slow circle. Yup, nothing but black abyss. She was about to
try and wake herself when she recalled the voice. The second she did, the owner
spoke again.
“But did you think it would keep me
away?” His voice was smooth as silk, drifting over her and causing her shiver.
She was hoping this dream was going
to take a turn for the better, but she didn’t recognize the sound of him, and
couldn’t seem to find him. She could see enough to know that she was standing
alone. So where was his voice coming from?
“Where are you?” she asked, doing
another circle with a frown.
“Where I’ve always been,” he said
cryptically, the hint of a smile in his tone. “Have you forgotten so much?”
Disappointment now. “Clearly you don’t recall our game.”
“Game?” Huh?
She was still wearing the gray
sweatpants and purple tang top she’d fallen asleep in. Her bare feet were
growing numb against the cold black surface she was standing on. Having always
had control of her dreams before, she attempted to warm the place up a bit,
surprised when nothing happened. She tried again, her frown deepening.
“This isn’t only in your mind,” the
voice told her, “not really. We’re in a between place, where dreams can be
accessed via connection with the dreamer. Any dreamer,” he added, “not you
specifically.”
Ok…this had gotten weird quickly.
She was used to random, normal dreams that regular people had. The kind that
didn’t make any sense, that weren’t in the least bit prophetic at all. But this
didn’t feel like one of those. This had the edge of reality to it that all her
premonitions and memory flashes had always had.
Yet, she got the distinct
impression this was not a conversation that she’d had in a past life, and it
wasn’t going to happen in the future. It was happening now.
“You’ve accessed my mind?” None of
her three friends could do that. Only her.
He must have understood her train
of thought, because he chuckled and said, “I have access to many things,
Dreamer. Your mind is just the beginning. Soon I’ll acquire all of you.”
She stilled.
“Tell me,” he continued, “how much
do you remember?”
“About?” She struggled to maintain
composure. She had no idea who this guy was, or if he was even telling the
truth. It felt real, but she knew
better than anyone that dreams could be deceiving. This could all just be a
poor side effect of that extra slice of pepperoni and mushroom pizza she’d had
an hour before bed.
“About you,” he elaborated. “About
me. About us. What do you know of
your past, Liliandra?”
She’d deal with that “us” statement
in a moment. Right now she was still trying to wrap her head around the rest of
it. He knew about her past life? How? Was he another like her and her friends?
They’d always wondered if there were more, if more of their friends were out
there reborn, searching.
Could he be one of them?
Somehow, the second she thought it
her mind rejected it. He was different, the word dangerous even sprung up
unbidden.
Again she tried to alter the dream,
despite what he’d told her about not being solely in her mind. Nothing happened
and she tried to wake, but that didn’t work either. She’d always been able to
wake herself up before. She was a lucid dreamer. For the first time, an inkling
of fear mixed in with the confusion.
It’s
still just a dream, she silently reminded herself. She couldn’t get hurt
here.
“Not much,” she admitted out loud.
Playing along seemed like her only real option at this point. He must be
holding back, that was why he wasn’t showing himself. He was waiting for
something. But what?
“I know that I’ve lived before, and
that my friends lived in the same lifetime. I fought in battles.”
“Many,” he said, and was that a
hint of pride she detected? “You were an amazement to watch. I’d waste hours
doing just that. I wonder if you’d move the same now. You’ve been out of
practice so long.”
“How long?” They’d always wanted to
know that.
“Three hundred years,” he divulged.
Her mouth hung open and she her
brain raced to come up with a reaction to that other than pure undiluted shock.
Sure, she’d imagined herself connected to the Vikings somehow, who’d lived much
longer ago than that, but having confirmation…This was huge. Now she could
fully place herself!
She frowned. “Where did I live?
Where am I from?”
At first he was silent so long she
thought he wasn’t going to answer. The thickness to the air told her he hadn’t
left, so she knew he was still watching. She was about to ask again when he
finally spoke.
“You’ve forgotten everything,” he
said on a breathy whisper.
“I…” Couldn’t deny that.
“She said you were confused,” it
sounded like he was talking to himself now, “but this…this is so much more than
that. How did this happen? This wasn’t part of the agreement.”
Agreement? She was so in the
dark—no pun intended. The others had gone to the wiccan shop but it’d been
closed. They hadn’t been able to get any more answers. Lily realized now that
she needed them just as badly as they did. Here she was having a conversation
with an eerie yet oddly melodic voice in the middle of an abyss.
“Who are you?” she asked then. She
felt an answering tingle at the base of her spine and turned in time to see him
slowly step from the shadows like they’d been a live thing.
Her breath caught again, but for
different reasons.
Holy hell.
He was drop. Dead. Gorgeous.
Violet eyes stared back at her, set
on the most beautiful face she’d ever seen. He had full lips currently the
shade of purpling rose petals, and pale blonde brows arching over his cat like
eyes. His hair was a golden color, that somehow reflected a light source that
still wasn’t there.
He was wearing a well fitted black
pinstriped dress shirt, and leather pants tucked into boots. Silver sparkled
from around his neck, and when she stepped another foot closer she could make
out the twist of an infinity symbol.
When she glanced back up to his
face she was met with crystal blue eyes instead of the violet that had been
there only seconds prior.
Either it’d been a trick of the
non-existing light, or he could change the color at will. The latter prospect
sounded interesting, and if she weren’t still so unsure of this situation, she
would ask him about it.
Familiarity buzzed through her,
giving her a strong sense of déjà vu she couldn’t place. She fought with it,
trying to force a memory into her grasp, but it refused to come. She’d known
him, that much was certain, which meant so far everything he’d told her had
been the truth. Greedily, she wanted more, yet didn’t want to give him the
impression that she trusted him.
There was something about him that
set her off balance, that put her on edge. There was something here she should be remembering about him,
something important. She just couldn’t.
Sensing that she’d looked her
fill—yeah right, who would get enough of that?!—he answered her question.
“I am Ronan Ambros,” he declared.
“Of Bevain.”
Bay-vain.
It echoed through her mind, shattering some barrier inside she hadn’t been
aware of. At once she saw a sea of green, hills rolling high up towards the
milky clouds. In the distance, a tall gray mountain towered, casting a deep
shadow over a field of blood red flowers. She could actually taste the air,
there was a bitter sweetness to it, and the smell, it was spicy, like chamomile
tea.
As quickly as the vision had come,
it dissipated, leaving her breathless and slightly dazed. It took her a moment
to readjust her focus, her true surroundings bleeding back into reality slowly.
“You remembered something,” Ronan
said. “Was it me?”
“No,” she shook her head,
swallowing. “I think it was Bevain. I think I just remembered it.”
She thought back, picked apart her
feelings from the memory flash and what that version of her had known. She’d
felt what she’d felt back then, standing over looking that field. She’d known
what past her had known. It was just a matter of recalling it back, untangling
it from what this version of herself had been thinking.
Wide eyed she glanced back over to
him. What she thought she recalled couldn’t be right. There was no way. It just
wasn’t possible. Was it?
“I’m not from here,” her voice
cracked when she spoke, “am I?”
He cocked his head, inspecting her coolly.
“No,” he finally agreed. “You’re not.”
Bevain didn’t sound familiar to her
because she’d once read it on a world map. It couldn’t even be found on one. At
least, not of the world, of this
world.
“I’m from another realm.”
“Yes,” there was that edge of pride
again, “good. If you managed to glean all of that from only one memory, this
shouldn’t be as complicated as I’d begun to fear. Perhaps you simply needed a
push in the right direction. A reason to unlock your past.”
She was guessing he was talking
about himself.
“Though I must admit,” he took a
step towards her, “I kind of like you this way. Innocent. Unknowing. This could
actually work to my advantage.”
He stopped before her, lifting his
hand as if he were about to stroke her cheek with his knuckles. He hesitated
however, hovering there with less than a centimeter between contact.
Frustration marred his face, soon joined by anger. He yanked his hand back with
a low growl and spun on his heels, putting distance between them once more.
When he turned back, his irises
were bright red.
“The rules are still in play,” he
hissed, “even though you don’t have your memories. Did you know this would
happen?” he asked as if she’d actually have an answer for him. At her stare, he
cursed.
“I’ve waited three hundred years to
set eyes on you,” he told her. “Each day more agonizing than the last. I can
wait a little for the rest to come. I can wait, Dreamer. But not long.”
She got the distinct impression
that was meant as a threat.
“Soon,” he said, and then there was
nothing but her and darkness.
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