Dream Trysts: A Sleeping Beauty Story (Passion-Filled FairyTales Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page B

all the ways of dream sight, as he calls it.”
    James turned his head to the horizon, and this time his tone was bitter. “It’s time,” he said. “I will be ejected from your dream soon. The sun has almost set.”
    Rose looked over at the orange winking away on the horizon
    “Don’t let our last interaction be sad,” he said. He leaned in and kissed her again, pulling her tight to him.
     
     
    And then she was awake. Her eyes opened to see the rising sun outside and bitterness swam in her insides. How could the most significant companion of the last six years of her life be, in fact, a dream? Or even if not a dream, why was she only able to access him in dreams? She had told Dwennon long ago that she dreamt of a boy. That she saw him often, and wondered if he was like her mother: real.
    But Dwennon had said he couldn’t be. She’d been embarrassed by the fact that she believed James to be real when Dwennon knew so much about the fairy world and fairy magic. So she had told him shortly after that dreams of James had ceased. Though she wished she hadn’t told that one fib. She wanted to know if Dwennon could be wrong. She wanted assurance that James was real. He felt so real, as real as her mother.
    There was a knock on the door, and soon Hilly’s head popped in, a grin on her face. “Happy birthday, Rose!”
    Rose smiled. Seventeen. A momentous occasion. She could return home tomorrow. That was what she was told, that as soon as midnight passed on her birthday she could rejoin her parents. Then, maybe once she had left the solace of her hideout with Dwennon and Hilly, she could seek out James.
    “Thank you,” Rose said. “I appreciate it.”
    Hilly, who took it upon herself to enter, had a huge smile on her face and said, “So are you ready, my love?”
    Hilly had set herself on the edge of Rose’s bed, looking cheerful as ever. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be, Auntie,” she said, even though she knew Hilly wasn’t really her aunt. Still, they’d always told her to address them as such. “I have joy at finally seeing my mother in person, and actually meeting my father, but … I will miss our life here. Even though I know in my head that I’ve spent some time in my parent’s care before coming here, this is the only life I remember. It just seems odd to be leaving it behind.”
    Hilly nodded. “It will be scary, for sure,” Hilly said. “New things always are, but that does not mean they are bad. Just new. And your uncle and I will be there to help you get along.”
    Rose nodded. It was a small comfort to hear Hilly’s words. Still, the anxiety of the change in her life overwhelmed her. And that’s when it occurred to her why she had really stopped with James. Why she had suddenly become worried again that he wasn’t real. Because things were changing for her. Everything about the life she knew wasn’t real. It had all been a fabrication by her parents to protect her. Hilly and Dwennon weren’t her aunt and uncle. This little home in the woods wasn’t really her home. Yet it all felt real, and tomorrow it was all being taken away. She feared the same would be true of James, that tomorrow he would be lost to her.
    “Don’t look so desolate, dear,” Hilly said, rousing her from her thoughts. Rose nodded and forced a smile. “Your uncle and I have a great surprise for you today. It’s a birthday surprise, and Dwennon says he’s foreseen it’s a good idea, even though some might think it risky.”
    Rose stared at Hilly, her curiosity piqued. “What is it?”
    Hilly shook her head and smiled coyly. “The kind or surprise that is, in fact, a surprise, my dear girl. Get dressed and come to breakfast. Then we shall give you your gift. And it will be wrapped in spectacular fashion, as all good presents are.”

Chapter 8
     
    With Hilly’s enticement of a spectacular present, Rose dressed quickly, not even bothering to remove the long braid that kept her blonde hair from tangling