"You all ready?" Ashlyn asked. I barely heard her, too focused on what we were all about to do. Kiara's motionless body lay on the bed in front of me, Julian, Zarek, Killian, and Acheron. The five of us were about to enter whatever nightmare Taren had decided to put her through. It was going to be dangerous, what we were about to attempt, especially if what she was going through was something personal to any of the rest of us. But we had to do this. I needed to get my wife back, to let her know that I remembered.

"Ready," I said. The others seconded my statement. Giving Kiara a gentle kiss on her forehead, I sat down in a chair next to her bedside, mentally steeling myself for what was ahead.

"Drink this and close your eyes," Ashly ordered, handing us each a vial. The glass was dark, so I couldn't see how much liquid there was or what it looked like. It set me on edge, but at this moment, desperation won out over my concerns. "Remember, you can still die in her dreams if she wills someone to attack you, or depending on how realistic her dream-world is. There is no time limit, and as long as you remain aware that you're in a dream, you should be able to pull out of it whenever you wish."

"Bottoms up," Killian said, staring disdainfully at the potion before knocking it back. The rest of us followed in suit. The taste of chamomile and lavender exploded on my tongue, surprisingly pleasant. It worked quickly too.

One moment I was staring at Kiara's bedroom ceiling, the next moment I wasn't. I had no memory of falling asleep or entering Kiara's dreamland. Truthfully, the only reason I woke up was because Acheron shook me until I did.

"Where are we?" I grunted as I stood up, taking in my surroundings. We'd ended up on a sandy beach underneath the blistering sun. Few people were around us. A couple in the far distance strolled in one direction, and in the other, a couple of kids played in the sand. I glanced out over the expanse of dark blue ocean in front of me, savoring being on a beach again in the sun and-

The sun!

"Why are we not burning up?" I asked, glancing anxiously down at my body, which was in the direct sunlight. I should've been burnt to a crisp, but I was completely fine.

"This is a dream world. This isn't real sunlight," Acheron explained.

I stared out over the calm blue waters. "So, the sun can't kill us in the dream unless she wills it to?"

"Correct. We need to stop Kiara from discovering we're Dark-Hunters until she trusts who we are and where we're from."

"Awesome... so, where exactly are we?"

My question earned me a hit in the arm from Julian. I looked over at him to ask what that was for but instead found him fixated on something behind me. I followed his gaze. My eyes were greeted with a wall I knew all too well. A wall that kept invaders out and people inside- like my family- safe.

"Thrace," I murmured. "We're in Thrace."

"We're still in our regular clothing," Zarek pointed out. I took in our appearance. All of us were either in black leather or suits, not exactly fitting for this time period.

"If this is a dream, though, won't people be able to ignore it?" Killian queried.

"It's not our dream, it's Kiara's. Everything is real to her. We need to find appropriate clothing," Acheron replied.

"There are always vendors on the outskirts. If we take off our shirts, muddy up our pants, it should be easier to blend in," I said.

"Lead the way, Your Majesty," Acheron said, voice tinged with slight amusement. His mocking earned him a death glare. We set off for the front of the wall. It felt weird to be back here after all this time as I'd made a point to avoid it as an immortal. I didn't want to be home when my wife and kids weren't there to greet me.

Sure enough, when we arrived, vendors that couldn't get into the city were outside the gates, shouting at potential customers to come view their products. I chose one near the edge, far away from the guards' prying eyes. I was the King here. They knew my face. It would be suspicious for me to be here looking the way I did.

"What can I do for you, good sirs? As you can see, I have a wide selection of anything you might need," the vendor said, sweeping his hand over his rickety table. We all narrowed in on the battle gear. It would be less auspicious if we were in that than our current clothing.

Once geared up, we trekked around the wall that was closest to the castle. Being Dark-Hunters, it was easy for us to scale it, something that would've been impossible when we were humans. We landed gracefully on the ground, taking in the sights around us. I could see the wall around the palace itself up ahead.

Home.

"She'll be in there," Acheron said.

"Then that's where we go," Killian remarked.

"Remember, even though this is her dream, this is obviously going to be personal to her, and if it's personal to her, there will most likely be something personal to you here as well. Don't get distracted by it, and keep going as hard as it may be."

"Should we split up?"

"No. We have no way of contacting each other. Let's at least get into the castle first, find a spot we can all meet at in a few hours, and find out what we know if we can't get Kiara herself."

With that in mind, we slipped unnoticed into the castle gardens. We decided the Valonia Oaktree would be to our meeting spot. I couldn't help remembering that that was where my wife and I shared our first kiss. I trekked off deeper into the gardens. Julian and Killian went for the palace, splitting it in half. Zarek and Ash chose to go into the city.

Guards passed me on the path, nodding their heads in respect. I responded in kind, almost forgetting what it was like to have this kind of power. The sun beat down on me, but the sea breeze took away the intensity of it, gently ruffling my hair, and caressing my skin. I missed home, I missed my family, and above all, I missed my wife. The thought of leaving this place without her was unbearable; it made my heart simultaneously constrict and stop beating.

As if the world heard my desperation for her, I heard Kiara's voice float from an area I couldn't quite see. Following my ears, I ended up underneath a cluster of Stone Pines, where I found my family chatting and eating an assortment of fruits. Kiara sat with her back against a tree, smiling at the kids in front of her. Kellan, Kalen, and Kieran were bickering about fighting techniques. Karina was reading a scroll, once in a while sending a death glare at her brothers whenever they bumped into her. The twins, Kira and Kara, were tossing food into each other's mouths, keeping tally of who caught the most and who had the longest streak.

"Father!" Karina exclaimed, causing all games and conversations to stop. Before I could respond, my daughters were enveloping me in a hug, gruffly shoving their brothers out of the way in the process.

"Hey!" The boys protested.

"You get to go train with him and fight in battles with him," Karina said. "The least we get to do is hug him first."

"You can fight in battles with us," Kellan suggested.

"We'd love to! The enemy would be so shocked to see a woman that it'd give us an opening to strike then and there," Kira replied.

Kieran furrowed his brow. "Have you three thought about this a lot or something?"

"Yes," Kara said.

"If you're not going to hug your father, I am," Kiara interrupted, stepping forward.

"We're hugging, we're hugging!" My sons scrambled over to me as my daughters moved out of the way. I stood in shock, unable to do much other than return the gestures of love. I knew this dream would be personal.

But not like this.

Not my kids.