Restlessness ruled me instead of the exhaustion that was beneath my skin.

I'd known Amara for years before I had met Denise and managed to get some control on my out-of-control powers.

With Amara, I was able to see some of my past. Things I couldn't remember and others that I was too young to recall. There was a time that I considered her a sister and with the most recently learned detail about her, I didn't know where we stood. I wasn't sure we could fix this.

I had left the loft to meander through some of Chicago to clear my head. I guess I thought I could walk it out before I had to get answers from Amara. My problem was, I hadn't gotten much sleep and I needed to prepare myself for a long evening.

Around mid-morning, I finally decided I needed to get some rest.

Erring on the side of caution, I circled the block of the apartment I'd been at. All of my things were with me, but I truly needed to recharge. I'd be useless if I couldn't concentrate enough to use my powers, if they were needed.

Finding nothing harmful or suspicious, I made my way back up into the loft.

The bed I had napped on before looked untouched, likely from a spell that kept things where they should, almost a time-freeze-reset sometime in the early morning. A clever trick if you wanted to keep up with appearances and weren't able to visit often.

Sleep came easier now that I'd run more energy out, but I focused my mind and thought of a sunny spot to go to. My deprived body and mind slipped into a dream with ease.

I hadn't expected Regan, but when he wasn't there, I found myself slightly disappointed.

Sinking my feet into the hot, soft sand, I wondered what I could do with the paradise I had created. This was a place I'd never been to, but it felt familiar.

Could I set a volcano off?

The ground beneath me shook as an ominous rumble and squawking of frightened birds broke through the serenity of the waves lapping at the shore.

Would there at least be drinks?

"Miss?" A kind man with dark copper skin, kind eyes, and raven's hair held a large, frosted glass with ice and a blue liquid inside, an orange slice on the side, straw, and pink umbrella.

I accepted it with a polite nod, and he vanished.

Could I call Regan to me from the waking world?

Nothing.

"It was worth a try, I suppose," I mumbled to myself. There had been a hope and I knew better than to do that.

The water was cool, and the drink was strong. Forgetting about the past few days, I walked through the salty waters.

Sea shells?

I'd never found an intact silver dollar or mermaid scale in my lifetime, but when I searched the sand... there they were. Perfect shells of different varieties and sizes, sand dollars that were bleached and perfect to place on a shelf of trinkets, and scales, from mermaids, as large as my palm that shined like iridescent crystals.

In other realms, I had heard, mermaid scales were as common as shark teeth on a Florida beach.

Too good to be true.

This wasn't my life. This wasn't what I wanted. I thrived on chaos and disorder from time to time and without it, I wouldn't have been myself.

Still, I craved for something that I knew better than to want.

Regan.

What, in all the damned, was I thinking?!

I groaned as I chucked the scale into the ocean. It skipped beautifully and then sliced into a rolling wave. More unrealistic shit.

Where were the hellbeasts when I needed them?

Heat brushed up my back. It brought the putrid smell of sulfur, smoke, and rot with it.

"Of course," I voiced to the empty beach as I turned. "Just wish you smelled better."

It jerked its neck up and looked... confused? The rotting smell and sulfur faded, and the smoke was the only smell that remained.

"Are you going to eat me?" I turned as it approached. It snapped its jaws once before giving a shake of its horned head. "Good. Wanna play?"

I watched as its smaller back half sat in the sand. The exposed vertebrae on its tail were silent as it waved back and forth, almost wagging.

I couldn't help but laugh at myself. "You know, you're pretty cute, especially now that you aren't trying to kill me." I laughed harder as the stick that I'd seen at the edge of the Darkvale park. 

"Ready for round two, big guy?"

For the briefest moment I realized I didn't know whether or not hellbeasts even had different sexes seeing as they came from lava chasms. The thought was fleeting as the bough lifted, the beast stood anxiously, and my attention was on the task at hand.

I wasn't being chased, but curiosity made me do it.

Once more, I launched the branch over the beast's shoulder.

Unlike last time, the monstrous creature spun, spraying sand everywhere, and took off after the branch.

Shaking my head, I watched as the giant beast ran down the beach to retrieve the limb. Its jaws were more powerful than we realized as the wood splintered in its jaws.

"Damn, Beasty." I was suddenly thankful that it hadn't gotten the opportunity to catch me in its mouth.

"I'd say so as well," a familiar male voice came from behind me and I shrieked. "And here I thought you'd called me to you."

I turned to see Regan's stupidly handsome face watching the beast.

"I'm on vacation and don't have time for your brooding," I lied and attempted to refocus on Beasty.

"Then we should vacation," he said as he unfolded a chair and slid his feet into the sand.

I walked further onto the beach and met Beasty mid-way. Eagerly dropping the stick at my feet and backed up a few steps, body ready to launch.

I lifted the smaller piece of wood and threw it again. This time, the wood landed in the shallow water. Waves brought it closer, rocking it in the lapping water.

Watching the giant monster of a creature whose physique would have suggested a clumsy gate, was oddly majestic in its own twisted way.

When it reached the water's edge, it stopped. Digging its claws into the sand in an attempt to reach its prize. Its neck strained; it wasn't long enough to reach the sick and Beasty let out a high pitch whine.

It dawned on me, and I asked, "Hellbeasts don't like water?"

Regan only answered with his signature smirk.

Note to self: Hellbeasts don't like water.

Music played in my head and as I blinked Regan was holding me, swaying in a bamboo hut with a small band. The sun hung low on the horizon, painting everything the light touched in rose gold.

Beasty was laying on the ground outside the structure with something that looked like a dragon bone. Dedicating both front claws to hold steady while gnawing on the enormous knuckle.

"Are you going to acknowledge that you pulled me into your dream?" Regan asked hoarsely near my ear.

Leaning back to look him in the eyes and said, "Nope. You're not here. This is just a dream."

"Then you must really like me, little witch."

"I don't," I said as I looked everywhere but at him.

"Liar."

"We're in my dream and you show up. I don't like you. So, you must be here to annoy me. Ruining my paradise."

His chest rumbled in a delicious chuckle and my insides turned molten. "What you see," he said as he spun me away from him, "and what you feel," he spun me back into his embrace, "are all me, sweetheart."

My hand felt his heated skin through the thin button up he now wore and I found myself wanting to believe him.

"Prove that you're real."

"What do you want? You seemed to enjoy it when I was naked. Shall I strip?"

He swept me into a dip. I hesitated to answer him and he noticed. "No."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Forget it. Stop talking. You'll ruin the moment." I focused on his expertly led steps. Falling into a comfortable rhythm.

"I couldn't agree more."

Another dip, but this time his weight followed and my back hit a cool silky surface that was so deliciously comfortable, I arched into Regan.

"This is not what I meant," I hit his shoulder and was met with bare skin.

"I'm sure it was."

His body pressed against mine and an involuntary moan escaped before I clamped my mouth and eyes shut.

"No more talking, little witch. Isn't that what you wanted, correct? It just so happens that body language is one of my favorite forms of communication and I'm curious how yours will respond to me."

With a strong push, I launched him off of me with a new drive to control the situation. "Not interested."

He landed gracefully with a predatory gleam in his eyes as they changed. Onyx orbs stared back at me. "Play time, little witch."

An exhilarated thrill went through me at the thought of entertaining him. "I want more information about your deal?"

"Work, no play?" His voice had a darkness to it that I had heard once before, at the Black Hole.

"Yes. Work hard, play harder," I said.

"Fine. The stones."

As he spoke, the darkness behind him, that should have been the other side of the room, morphed into the underground poker game I'd won.

"What are they?" I asked as I walked over to the table. It was as I had left it.

"You took them without knowing what they were?" He watched me as I moved.

"Maybe..." I looked over the cards laying on the table and laying on the floor, remembering my sleight-of-hand that won me the game.

"That doesn't sound very smart."

"Just because I don't always think things through, doesn't mean I'm not smart. Now tell me what they are."

"Succubus stones, also referred to as incubus stones."

Shit! The small information that I had found in the library didn't give me a lot to go on and I had so many questions.

"Why does Octavion want them so bad?"

"You really don't know, do you?"

"Know what?" I acted nonchalant as I found a bowl of fresh fruit to pick at. Could I even be hungry in my dream?

With a deep sigh he said, "Those stones were made by using blood magic. They are appallingly valuable, and he already made a deal to sell them"

"To whom?"

"Not sure but I have my suspicions."

"Wait," it the information he was telling me was filtering through me and I was catching up. "You said he made a deal to sell them. Did he make them?"

"Yes. Well, sort of."

"Meaning?"

"He ordered them made. If he made them, it would tarnish his ora too much and he can't chance that when he is considered royal. It would look bad." He used air quotes for 'bad.'

That made sense. The council would kick him out and strip him of his title.

I could notify Denise. Then again, maybe she probably already knew. Shit!

"I do know that Quinton is one of his customers."

"Owner of the Black Hole?"

"Yup. He's been close to my dad for years and usually does the dirtier and darker tasks that my father has to distance himself from."

"Okay, so what has Quinton used them for?"

"The first and last stone he used was on a siren. He has complete control over her powers and can use the stone to punish her."

He looked disgusted, or had it been my delirium. Maybe I had wanted him to feel sorry for the people his father was hurting. Maybe I wanted Regan to have more redeeming qualities besides the sexual tension he exuded.

With some thought I remembered seeing the singer, on stage, with a stone around her neck. It had been a necklace, though... right? The shape and size was similar to the ones I found, so it wasn't far-fetched to think it could relate to the stones in my possession.

Fuck!

He could be telling me something I already suspected, and my wild imagination had caused this figment of my pleasures to spew words that were meaningless.

"That's no way to live," I said as I considered what I'd say next, but Regan spoke first.

"I agree."

Wait, what?

Walking around the space, I'd turned my back to him so it was easy to hide my shock. I pushed on and asked something I didn't know. "What is the process of creating a succubus stone?"

His lip curled and he emitted a growl that was nothing close to being friendly. "They are made by draining the life force of succubi and incubi."

"Life force, not just magic?" No wonder why they wanted them back this badly.

"No. The process is nothing I will ever be a part of or condone."

"How many lives?"

"The more sacrificed, the stronger the stone."

"What else do you know about them?

"Not a lot, truthfully. I've been told about the colors, but I don't remember everything."

"As a part of their magic, I'd assume."

"You assume correctly. They change, depending on what is happening around them." He stalked closer to me. As quickly as his attitude had changed with the disgust of the stones, he was in a whole new mood. "There is one color I do remember."

"Don't keep a girl waiting, spill."

"Red."

"Red?" When the stones were being tracked?

In that moment, I would know if the Regan who stood before me was truly real or my imagination.

His eyes flashed with gold for a moment before changing to their fathomless black. "A succubus stone will turn red when it detects sexual energy. Succubi and incubi feed off of strong emotions and pleasure is both mental and physical, it is nearly as strong as pain."

With that statement, I decided that he was the real Regan, however the fuck that worked. Clearly he knew more than my subconscious could conjure up on its own and red for erotic urges made sense. I didn't like it, but if it hadn't been for my paranoia, I probably would have guessed it.

Wouldn't I?

"Lost in thought, little witch? Shall we turn those stones red?"

I smiled at the implication before slowly turning to sit my ass on the poker table. He was there in seconds, fulling the space between my knees with his body.

Walking my fingers up his chest, I said, "You know we never actually talked about the deal you were offering."

"Nope, we didn't. Must have had other things on my mind." His eyes drifted over me.

I laughed out loud when he gave me a seductive smirk. "The stones are what we were talking about. I can't imagine your mind being on anything else."

With a flick of my finger, his shirt was gone.

"Give me the stones," he whispered.

"What do you want with them?"

"It is my desire to destroy them." He leaned in and I shivered at the heat of his breath against the shell of my ear.

Lightly pushing away from him, I needed to see his reaction. I asked, "Truly?"

"Yes. I can assure you that our interests are more aligned than you realize."

Following me back, his body pressed into mine and I lost my words. My elbows braces on the table beneath me and I knew I was in trouble.

"Do we have a deal?" His voice had darkened.

"Yes," I mumbled. This was just a dream, I reminded myself.

"Perfect. We need to make it official. I need to kiss you."

My mind was fogging and only thinking about the pressing need where our bodies were touching.

"This still doesn't mean I like you," I added.

With a dark chuckle, he pressed his mouth to my neck. Moving his lips against my skin as he said, "Of course not. That can't happen."

In the next moment, my brain couldn't keep up. There was a snap of Regan's fingers, my clothes were gone, my legs spread, and my feet were resting on his bare shoulders.

"Regan!" I gasped his name in the unexpected and overwhelming sensations my body was responding to.

He hushed me as his shadows wrapped around my wrists and held me to the poker table. My body gushed and my mind slowed, then his mouth was on my pussy, licking and probing. The pleasure shocked me, and my chest arched.

The man needed to be illegal. I lost all thoughts except what else Regan could offer.

My dream. My pleasure, or maybe Regan's, I couldn't tell. Either way, I was going to enjoy myself while I was still sleeping and didn't have to worry about any physical repercussions of my actions.

Palms and fingers itched to grip his head to me while still pinned.

My hips bucked and he moaned.

I didn't want to be restrained. I wanted to grip his head and pull him closer. Whatever dream magic he was weaving, it was all feeling incredibly real.

My body reacted and my powers punched through his bindings. Hands free, I did what I wanted to. Tunneling my fingers through his hair, against his scalp, I pulled him into me.

The added friction, suction, and motion of his tongue sent me over the edge. I wanted to be embarrassed with how quickly I came, but it never happened. My body felt heavy and sated.

Beneath me, the surface I had been laying on changed. Sinking, slightly, I found myself rolling to my side, wrapped in a blanket on the bed.

The smug look Regan was giving me made me want to punch him, but my body didn't want to move.

"What the fuck was that?" I asked as calmly.

"Sealing our deal," he said casually as he lay back against pillows that hadn't been there before.

"I thought you said kiss, not a tongue fucking."

"Are you really complaining, little witch?"

"I really don't like you," I said before materializing clothes and reading myself to leave.

The air around us shifted and Regan was on his feet, at my side in a blink.

"What was—"

"Hush," Regan's shadows gathered around me, walling me off, as a man appeared at the other side of the room.

Regan's bedroom, I realized. No longer a partial underground poker hall.

The newcomer looked like something out of nightmares. His humanoid appearance, hidden beneath a skull mask and a hood, wearing all black, with a weapon slung on his back. A sythe?

Was he a reaper? Was that even a thing?

"Prince Regan," the stranger bowed slightly.

"What is it?" Regan's playful tone was gone and regality took its place.

"You've been requested."

"By whom?"

"Your father, sir."

"On my way."

Without a word, the stranger was gone.

Questions swirled beneath the surface and as I opened my mouth, Regan turned and kissed me.

Breath left my lungs in a rush. Words escaped me.

I punched his chest to break the kiss and the fucker laughed.

"Who was that?"

"An enforcer of my father's."

"How was he—"

"Like you, he is a dream walker. I need to go. I'll see you soon."

"Wait," I started, but he was gone.

'Like you...'

I lingered in the dream a little longer as the room morphed back to the tiki hut near the beach. Beasty was still gnawing on the bone and looked up momentarily to greet me, like I'd never been gone.

"Well now I'm officially confused," I said aloud.

I had no clue where I had come from or what my family tree looked like, but it seemed like Regan knew more about me than I did. That was troublesome.

Wondering what time it was, I roused myself and found my phone. I was late.

There were a few messages from Amara and one missed call with no voicemail.

Somehow, I couldn't find a single care. Payback and all that.

The glowing red from my bag began to dim and it seemed to all click. I wanted to know more about the stones. If red was sexual energy, then what had the blue or the green meant?

Taking my time and contemplating all the unanswered questions that were swirling around in my brain, I cleaned myself up and went in search of clothes.

I had a feeling I was in for a fight and needed to prepare.