Dreamer (The Dream World Chronicles Book 1) by Camille Peters (thriller books to read .txt) 📕

apples. As the alluring sweet caramel scent washed over me, for a split second I imagined myself enfolded in Darius’s arms, him cradling me close the same way Caspian held Angel…before the image slipped away.

He’s a Nightmare, I reminded myself over and over again, but the reminder did little to dispel my longings or my hurt.

Angel stroked Caspian’s cheek and managed to sever their connection long enough to turn towards us. “Do you mind if I go with him?”

Iris’s starry-eyed gaze only brightened. “Not at all. It’s my turn to manage the cultivating display anyway. You don’t mind being alone, do you, Eden?”

“No,” I lied.

“Don’t forget I’m still here,” Stardust said sourly. Great, now I was stuck dealing with a sulky cloud. She turned the force of her bad mood on me the moment we were alone. “Finally. I didn’t think I could remain silent a moment longer.”

I was still scowling after Iris and Angel and was in no mood for Stardust’s usual cryptic manner. “What are you talking about?”

“The Nightmares you talked with, obviously,” she said. “Did you honestly think I would let you go off with them by yourself? Please. I’m more loyal than that.”

“But I didn’t see—”

"Need I remind you I'm a morpher and can shrink to any size I want?” she said. “I only pretended like I didn’t know what was going on in order to protect your secret, an act which was agonizing considering I have my detective reputation to uphold.”

Her revelation only deepened my bad mood. I pressed my hands to my hips. “If you were there, why didn’t you intervene?”

“Don’t you know anything about being undercover? If I’d interjected, I wouldn’t have been able to discover what those Nightmares were up to. And speaking of which…” Stardust’s suspicious gaze scanned the surrounding crowd, searching for eavesdroppers. “How did those Nightmares learn about your ability to see dreams? I don’t believe for a moment Trinity read it in your heart. Her powers seem limited to reading emotions, not minds.”

I gritted my teeth. “Darius.”

“And how did Spiderweb figure it out? Don’t tell me you told him.”

“I accidentally stumbled into one of his nightmares a few Weavings ago, and I wasn’t exactly vague about what I’d seen. I thought he believed my coverup, but I should have known he was too clever to have fallen for it.”

Stardust groaned. “I told you a gazillion times not to dream-watch during Weavings, but did you listen to me? You’ve given that Nightmare another piece of crucial evidence against you. And now that he’s started spilling your secrets, you’ll be kicked out of the Dream World by dusk.”

Icy fear cinched my heart. “Surely the Council wouldn’t condemn me for having more power?”

“It’s not about having more,” Stardust said slowly. “It’s about having powers that are different. The Council is suspicious of any magic they don’t understand, magic that in the past has been used to tip the balance in unfavorable ways. Even if you have no intention of using your magic in such a way, they’ll suspend you out of caution.”

I tightened my jaw. That hardly seemed fair, especially since I had little control over my unique powers. A flare of resentment towards the Council burned in my heart before I hastily tried to squelch it. “Though Darius wasted no time in sharing my secrets with Blaze and Trinity, at least he hasn’t turned me in to the Council…yet.” But considering I now knew I couldn’t trust him, surely it was only a matter of time.

Stardust frowned. “Then he must have another plan up his sleeve, especially if he’s consulting other Nightmares about you.”

I didn’t want to think about Darius’s betrayal. Instead, the question that had been festering within me ever since my interaction with Blaze and Trinity burned on my tongue. “What do you think about Trinity’s conclusion that dreams are separate worlds? Do you think anything inside a dream could really help—”

“Certainly not,” Stardust interrupted fiercely. “And don’t you dare go trying it. The fact that they suggested it proves it’s dark magic.”

“What if they have no ulterior motive?” I said desperately. “What if it’ll really help me win more Weavings? Isn’t it worth trying?”

“The only thing that will help your Weavings is additional study, practice, and more age-appropriate dreams.” Stardust’s eyes narrowed. “You don't actually believe them, do you?”

And that’s when I realized that I did—as if the knowledge that I had the potential to influence dreams had always been a part of me, and Trinity had simply illuminated it.

“Let’s not worry about it now,” I said hastily. “Let’s just enjoy the festival. We can visit the unicorns again.”

After visiting the unicorns a third time and riding the gumdrop carousel, we explored the World of Color exhibit for nearly an hour as Stardust browsed through the newly-released coloring books and oohed and awed over the recently discovered color: a soft mix between orange, blue, and a hue I had no name for.

“Would you like to enter a name suggestion?” The tie-dyed Dreamer in charge asked.

Naturally Stardust couldn’t resist such an invitation. “I wonder when the color will be ready to include in the Mortal world?” she mused after a ten-minute ordeal of agonizing deliberation over which name to choose. “Like all the past colors, it’ll probably be introduced gradually over the course of several years. When orange was created, Dreamers began by dipping a few of the flowers in it before adding it to sunrises and even fruits. Oranges used to be, well, not orange.”

“There’s the cultivating display.” I pointed to the greenhouse up ahead. “Let’s go visit Iris.”

Stardust gracefully changed directions and kept talking.

The scent of floral perfume and earth filled my nostrils as I gingerly stepped over a vine twisting itself around the doorframe and entered the humid greenhouse. Amidst the thick crowds and pots of peculiar plants, I spotted Iris in an animated discussion with a group of wide-eyed onlookers about a rainbow-colored daffodil the size of a small shrub, with ivory fruit growing