Only in Her Dreams by Christina McKnight

Oneiroi?” This is ludicrous .“I have the card of a doctor who can help you.”
    He arched a brow. “That will be unnecessary, I assure you. I wasn’t sent by ‘some Greek god’, but The Dream God.”
    The air around her had gotten heavier, harder to inhale as the conversation had gone on.
    “Humans hold a distorted idea of my kind. It is quite different than what your books, myths and movies teach,” he continued. The look on her face must’ve convinced him that a little more information was needed. “I’m from a place called Erebos and that is where my kind--dream watchers, if you will--reside.”
    “Dream watchers?” He had that right! The man had watched her in her dreams for as long as she could remember.
    “We are given a charge to watch over. We are able to walk amongst mankind’s dreams,” his voice rang clear with conviction, his eyes never wavering from her own.
    Had he fed this line to others? Why me? So many questions invaded Lucessa’s mind, she didn’t know where to begin.Breathing deep, she calmed herself to focus. “How did I become your ‘charge’?”
    He stared at her, the question hanging between them. Would he answer her?
    Maxim finally spoke. “It was many, many years ago.” Pausing, he took a sip of his wine. “Do you remember a time that I wasn’t with you?”
    “You’ve never actually ‘been with me.’ You’re more of a lurker.” Oh heck! I just said that out loud. She leaned back on the sofa and smiled to cover her discomfort.
    “A lurker, huh?” Maxim’s lips also parted in a smile. “My responsibility for the last twenty-two years has been to watch over you.”
    “And you did this by invading my dreams,” she said this as a statement, not a question. “Why are you here now ?”
    “You were never in danger before.”
     
    # # #
     
    Maxim chose his words wisely, careful not to say too much. His objective had been to tell her just enough so she’d allow him to protect her until he could handle Darius. In a way, he’d already told her too much. He could only hope she didn’t connect the time of his appointment as her watcher and the time of her father’s death. Does she remember me saving her from the car?
    “Why am I in danger now?” Lucessa leaned forward, as if to meet the threat head on. His respect for her increased.
    He should’ve expected the question, but he’d deluded himself into thinking she’d simply accept his protection.
    “There are men who seek to use you to gain power over Erebos. I’m here, on behalf of my kind, to make sure that does not happen.” If she asked many more questions, he’d be hard pressed not to give away more information than was necessary.
    “What do I have to do with ‘Erebos’?” The confusion on her face worried him. She was a smart woman and if she thought about the situation long enough she’d make the connection he dreaded. This connection must be avoided.
    “I’m unsure, but if you would permit me to have a look around, maybe add a few safeguards to your home, I might be able to find out why they seek you.” Not a completely dishonest answer.
    “You keep saying, ‘they.’ I need some answers from you, Maxim,” Lucessa said, rolling her eyes. “I can’t believe that your leader thinks I needed an Oneiroi to watch over me. Now I’m in danger and you don’t know why? Why watch over me in the first place? You have to know more than you’re telling me.”
    With this, Lucessa--he was still getting use to speaking her name--jumped up from the couch and headed to the kitchen, her stride purposeful and much like his eldest brother’s. It was odd the many similarities between the two.
    Her anger and frustration at the situation was understandable. Maxim held years of anger inside, anger over his father’s death, anger over Darius’s banishment, and anger over his petty role as this girl’s watcher. No one understood anger better than Maxim.
    He rubbed the back of his neck, stress weighing heavily on