Dream of Us

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Dyani’s POV.

“Calian is closest, we’ll go for him first.”

It doesn’t take long for us to get to the airport. Despite how hot my body is, I have to put on a hoodie and a wig. Denali doesn’t want us being too recognisable, he changed his hairstyle and everything.

I’m a mousy-blonde as I walk into the airport with Sian and Denali. My mate managed to use his contacts to get us all new identities. I frown at the foreign name on the passport, it doesn’t sound familiar at all. I’d never be called Helen.

We don’t talk much as a group as we sit in departures. I’m nervous, unsure of what to expect when we land in the first country. Not only is this lifestyle completely new to me, but I’ve also only been training to fight with Denali a few times. It’s strange, lots of the moves came back to me through fragments of memories. It’s like, even though my mind has forgotten, my body hasn’t. He was impressed with my fighting skills, but it doesn’t mean I’m not scared that I may have to defend myself against an attack.

How have I gone from waiting tables to this?

On top of all this, if we do manage to get one of my mates back, I have to deal with the fact there will be two men in my life, soon to be three. Being with Denali gave me palpitations, I can only assume that being with three men will put me into cardiac arrest.

I’ve never seen Denali in what I’ve dubbed stealth mode before. At the wedding, he was on the offence, attacking that man who was sent to track me down. At the airport, he is on high-alert, his eyes are constantly scanning the crowd.

We eat pizza. Food helps me distract myself from my fear and lets me concentrate on something else for a while. I’m full enough that, when we get on the plane, I sleep through most of the flight.

Denali rests on the plane but is on immediate alert the moment we land. He looks around constantly, scouting the area for any potential guards following us. I find myself absorbing his paranoia and glancing around with him, looking around for anyone that shows too much interest in our group. He told me how to recognise one of the king’s royal guards. Denali says that the guards are everywhere, spread across countries in airports.

We have to be on the lookout, or they’ll contact King Inteus and warn him of our arrival. One of the advantages we have is that King Inteus doesn’t know where I am or for sure that Denali is with me.

There doesn’t appear to be anyone and some of the tension leaves Denali’s shoulders. We get a taxi to a hotel that he’s booked under his fake name, Adrian Summerhill. I can’t believe I actually thought that was his real name. When you look at him, he doesn’t look like an Adrian at all.

Once we’re checked in and we’ve dropped off our bags, it’s down to business. Denali never found the exact location of Calian or Nuka, he could only feel their presence in a general area. He is going to take us to where he felt them strongest before and, hopefully, with us both trying to sense them out, we should be able to track them down.

We visit a rental place and hire a car with cash. Sian sits in the back, advising me to sit in the front with Denali so that we can ‘sense’ out our mate’s presence.

“I could feel that he was in this general area,” Denali tells us as we enter the northern part of the country. “I’m hoping that, with your help, we can track down his location more accurately.”

“How are we supposed to do that?”

“I’ll be over soon, and we’ll have to concentrate on our bond,” Denali starts to explain.

Five minutes later, he pulls into a lay-by and cuts the engine. Sian is quiet in the back as Denali coaches me on closing my eyes and focussing on the sound of his voice. I can feel the pull to him next to me, but there is also a tugging sensation to my left. I tell him as much and he turns the key in the ignition, pulling back out into the road. We drive for a bit longer; this time Denali turns left whenever possible.

We stop and do this a handful of times. Each time we stop, the sensation is stronger and easier to feel. By the end, we no longer have to close our eyes to concentrate, my body is already actively guiding me on where to go.

As we near the edge of a thick forest below a mountain, the tingling feeling in my chest becomes so constricting that gasp for breath. I glance at Denali and find him in the same position, he looks back at me with concern.

“Do you feel that?”

“Yes!”

He presses down on the accelerator, speeding us forward until the road disappears and only mud remains. At some point, it becomes impossible to drive through the trees.

“We’ll have to go the rest of the way on foot,” he announces.

The three of us trek through the trees in silence, anticipation and nerves hanging between us. I can’t think clearly, I’m so caught up in my own fears.

What if we can’t save him?

What if Sian or Denali gets hurt or worse?

What if we save him and Calian doesn’t want to be with us? With me?

“I can feel the anxiety rolling off you,” Denali says softly and reaches for my hand. “Deep breaths, Dee. It’s going to be okay.”

“We’ve got this,” Sian says encouragingly.

Up ahead is clearing. Denali grabs my hand and tugs me behind a tree, Sian reacts faster than me and hides behind another tree.

“Guards,” Denali whispers to me.

I follow his line of sight. A compound is just visible through the threes, fitted with a tall barbed-wire fence that is patrolled by guards. Guards with scary-looking guns.

“What do we do?”

We’d discussed using our magic earlier. It takes a lot of energy out of us when we use it. On the days when I have been practicing, I’m exhausted afterwards and have slept for twelve hours before. We don’t know what enchantment our mates are being held under; we’ll need all the magic we can use to break them out. For now, we’re stuck with physical attacks.

“We need a distraction. I can take them out if they’re distracted.”

“I’ll do it,” Sian and I speak at the same time and then smirk at each other.

Denali looks pained as he tries to decide between us. Every instinct is telling him not to put his mate in harm’s way, but he knows Sian is the better fighter.

“You know it makes more sense for me to cause the distraction,” I tell him firmly. “I’ll be okay.”

He doesn’t like it, but he has to agree. Sian and Denali stay behind the trees, hidden as I stroll out towards the main gate. I try to keep my demeanour relaxed and unthreatening, which is hard because everything inside me is telling me to tense up and run.

“You there! Stop!” One of the guards shouts.

I freeze for a moment and then continue walking towards them. There are two of them on either side of the gate, and they raise their guns to aim them at me.

“This is private property, state your name!” The other bellows.

I smile at them. “Dyani Decoteau, daughter of King Inteus. What are your names?”

They both look shocked for a second and share a concerned glance between them. To my right, I can feel Denali approaching. A few grunts sound out, and I clear my throat, trying to distract the guards so that they don’t realise they’re under attack.

“I need to speak with my father, can you take me in, please?” I ask them.

They both lower their weapons ever so slightly, but still keep a good grip on them. One of them steps forward.

“You’ll have to wait here while we confirm your identification,” he says and nods at the other guard.

He walks towards their little shelter, although he doesn’t make it very far. Denali comes up from behind and takes him out silently. I continue smiling innocently at the guard in front of me, who is watching me warily. He turns at the last second to see Denali launching at him, with Sian close in behind. I watch them take him down, memorising their moves and practising them in my head. I want to be useful too, I’m not here to be the distraction.

With the guards taken down, I help drag their unconscious bodies into the shelter. Sian works out how to open the gates and we walk into the compound. There are more guards patrolling and we have to run in a crouch from one building to another.

Denali and Sian take down each guard we encounter from behind, grabbing their heads and their necks and pressing a specific point that makes them pass out. When I think I’ve mastered it in my mind, I offer to take the next guard.

My heart is thumping with adrenaline as I run up behind the guard, keeping my footfalls quick and silent. I grab the point on his neck, holding tight as he squirms. Triumph fills me as he goes limp in my arms. I let him slide down my body to the ground.

“I did it!” I grin at Denali and Sian, who congratulate me on my first take-down.

I can be useful now as we move through the compound. Most of the buildings are empty or used for storage. It is obvious which one is housing Calian; it’s guarded by another two men with guns and has a thick steel door. Denali approaches with one of the guns he has picked up from a guard we’ve encountered.

Sian and I take out one of the guards, while Denali uses the other one to open the door. He presses his hand against the biometric scanner and then knocks him unconscious. Denali picks up the guns they were carrying and hands one to Sian and one to me.

My mate presses his finger to his lips and points for us to follow him inside. The building is sterile and industrial-looking. Everything is made from concrete and breeze-blocks. I can hear distant chatter as we creep along the corridor. Denali spots a CCTV camera and unplugs it before gesturing for us to continue.

The mate pull that I was tapping into earlier becomes strong again, it warms my chest. It feels like someone has tied a piece of string around my chest and is gently tugging on it, pulling me forwards.

We’re definitely in the right place, Calian is here.

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