21. Reed

The soft glow of the candles placed strategically around Darkmore’s office bathed the room in a cozy light, casting flickering shadows on the map of Kalista that hung on the wall behind his desk.

I fidgeted with the bottom of my shirt, glancing around the room as I avoided Darkmore’s gaze.

The weight of my silence loomed between us.

“Nyx, you checked yourself into this academy for a reason. You want to overcome this. Now, I understand that you have trauma surrounding entering others’ dreams to feed your magic reserves,” Darkmore spoke, his tone gentle yet probing.

I hesitated, the words catching in my throat for a beat. “It’s not just about feeding on the dreams. It”s about losing myself in them. Once I’m in someone else’s dream, I’m at the mercy of their whims. I can interact, interject myself, but I can’t control.”

He nodded, giving me his full attention as he leaned back in his chair. “Control is hard to let go of, especially when feeding is involved.”

“It is.” My voice broke as I remembered the last time I’d entered someone’s dream and gave up the control. It had been my father’s dream, and everything was fine that night—normal. I used to bounce around my parents’ dreams to fill my reserves, but…I’d been naive to the brutal reality of entering someone else’s dreams.

The next morning, Dad didn’t wake up.

“Tell me about your parents,” Darkmore suggested, clearing his throat and grabbing his tablet to type on. “Just the basics, for now.”

“My mom’s a human, and my dad was a dream demon like me.” My shoulder came up in a half shrug. “There’s not much to tell.”

“Did they have a good relationship?” he asked.

My lips curved into a slight smile as I nodded. “The best I’ve seen. They were fated mates.”

“Would you say they were good parents?”

“The greatest,” I murmured, thinking back to how attentive and loving they’d been to me.

We’d even had a weekly game night for just us.

“But something happened when you were only a kid,” he prodded. “What changed?”

“When I was eleven,” I corrected him, squeezing the hem of my shirt. “Dad died visiting the dreams of a guy from his work to feed. He did that sometimes. Just visited a random demon’s dreams. But the guy was having a nightmare, I assume, at least. Nobody knows, really. It’s what the guy had said. Anyway, Dad never woke up. There was so much blood when Mom stirred from her sleep next to him. He’d had his heart cut out,” I choked out. “We never found his heart.”

Darkmore”s expression softened as he stopped typing and set the tablet aside. ”That”s a heavy burden for a child to carry,” he murmured, but he didn’t hold the same pity in his expression that others did when they found out. ”And now you fear the same fate for yourself.”

I swallowed hard. ”Every time I close my eyes and even think about slipping into someone else”s dream, there”s this pit in my stomach telling me that it might be the last thing I do.”

Darkmore leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. ”Have you considered inviting someone new into your dreamscape instead? Perhaps someone you trust?”

My mind immediately went to Pandora and the time we’d already spent together within my dreamscape. Fates, she looked so happy sitting on the shore with the waves lapping at her legs.

”I already have,” I murmured, the image of that small, genuine smile on her lips making my heart skip a beat, though I couldn”t understand why just yet.

“Who have you invited into your dreamscape since your father passed?”

“My mom, up until I became friends with my best friend, Charlotte. After Dad died, Mom didn’t feel like doing anything, and she said she’d rather have her own dreams because she saw Dad there.” I swallowed the bitter feelings on my tongue. “They were fated mates, so I try to understand. Since starting here, I recently had someone else in my dreamscape.” My cheeks heated as I thought of Pandora.

His brows raised. “Who’s Charlotte?”

I blinked a few times before realizing that I had mentioned her. “Charlotte’s my best friend. We met online after Mom moved from the Capital, and we became close enough for me to pull her into my dreamscape. We talk about everything.”

He hummed low in his throat, tilting his head. “Is there anything more than friendship between you?”

I choked on a breath before hitting my chest a couple of times with my fist. “Fates, no. Charlotte is…Charlotte.”

“What about the new person you’re seeing in your dreamscape?” He arched a brow. “Is there anything between you and them?”

“Her,” I corrected sheepishly, feeling my face heat. “Pandora, actually. She entered my dreamscape so easily, and we talked forever when she was there.”

He tensed, straightening his posture. “Pandora, really?”

I nodded, drifting my gaze to my lap as a smile tugged at my lips. “She’s really special.”

“Yes, she is.” His voice was thick with an emotion I couldn’t place. “Do you l…trust her?”

My head snapped up. “I trust her, but even with Pandora, I don’t think I could enter her dreams.”

“Try pulling her into your dreamscape again,” Darkmore suggested, but I heard the hesitation in his words. “Then see how you feel. A shared dream with you in control, but focus on the fact that she has no control of it. She’s trusting you. That alone might be a step toward feeling safe.”

I mulled over the idea. “You think so?”

“I do,” he murmured before rubbing his cheek. “And between you and me, I think Pandora is the most trustworthy and kind demon I’ve ever met.”

My eyes widened as I studied that warmth that crept into his eyes. “You like her, too?” The question tumbled from my lips.

“In a way, yes,” Darkmore admitted, though his tone suggested a lot more than a platonic affection. “She”s strong and caring. I feel very protective of her, and yet, I think she could offer you a sense of stability.”

I sucked in a deep breath, letting that information settle. A strange tangle of emotions webbed around my chest. He was our counselor, on the Demon Council, and worked with her dad. There were a lot of reasons for him not to develop feelings for her, but a weird part of me didn’t mind it.

He would be good for her—and so would I.

“You care about her,” I murmured, cheeks heating up. “So do I.”

Darkmore glanced away for a moment, his gaze resting on the spines of the books lining the mahogany shelves of his office. “We all have our...wants,” he said, the corner of his mouth twitching into a shadow of a smile. “I know my role is to guide and protect her.”

I felt a knot of sympathy for him, knowing there were probably lines he wasn’t supposed to cross. “I guess that makes two of us who see something special in Pandora.”

“I guess it does,” he replied, meeting my gaze again. “You would be a great connection for her. She needs kindness, and right now, that’s something I…we can give her.”

I couldn”t deny the warmth that thought brought me, but that was stunted by the realization that Darkmore”s feelings were deeper than I had thought—especially since he couldn’t act on them. “I”ll try to pull her into my dreamscape again,” I murmured before I changed the subject to another topic on my mind. “Can you talk about the dark magic that was on campus?”

Darkmore hesitated before nodding, his face becoming a mask of professionalism only. “Yes. Dark magic is making an appearance. We have found a way to contain it.” His finger traced the edge of his desk. “You shouldn’t worry.”

“How can I not worry?” I glanced out the window to where the sky had turned a dusky purple. “Do you know where it came from?”

“The council has theories but nothing concrete.”

“I”m worried about what that means for all of us.” I chewed on my inner cheek. “Pandora looked so haunted when she came to class after seeing the dark magic circle. I’m worried about everyone, but specifically her.”

“She did?” Darkmore”s expression turned grim. “We”re all concerned. But the council will find a way to stop it before it”s too late.”

My thoughts turned to Gumdrop, my sweet axolotl, and I found myself wanting to talk to him about all of this. I knew I probably would once I got back to the dorm.

“Everything we’re talking about is stuff I would be telling my pet axolotl, Gumdrop,” I admitted, shifting on the sofa. “Gumdrop was the only other being there for me growing up,” I found myself saying. “After my dad died, it was just him and me. Sure, I had Charlotte to message and talk to, but Gumdrop was there.”

“That’s good.” Darkmore nodded understandingly, and his shoulders relaxed. “Bonds with animals can be strong. He”s been a source of comfort for you, just as Pandora might be if you let her.”

“You’re right.”

The session ended soon after, but Darkmore”s words lingered through my skull. I left his office feeling lighter and more hopeful. I wanted to explore my dreamscape with Pandora and show her the world. I wanted to confront my fears with her, but I wasn’t ready to do that…yet.