Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 242

Chapter 242: Dreaming again
Mia was confused. Why was he here?

“Mia,” Her uncle said sternly. “We have to talk.”

“What? Why?” She asked. The world shook as if there were an earthquake, and Trace clenched his fists.

“You’re dreaming, but I need to talk to you. Well, Seth does, but I refused to try to bring him here. Even if I managed it, he’d smash the dream apart with how upset he is.” Trace told her.

“Dreaming?”

“Yes, Mia. Are you able to have a frank discussion about your choices?” Trace used seriously.

The girl scratched her head, as she struggled to the realization that she was, in fact, dreaming. She couldn’t remember coming here. The last memory she had was of falling asleep in Ford’s arms.

“Hey! You said you don’t go into dreams without permission!” She accused before she could accidentally voice the thoughts in her head.

“Well, this is a bit of an extenuating circumstance, wouldn’t you say?” Her uncle raised an eyebrow. “We’re all worried sick about you! Running away, out in a storm! And so far down below, you must be in one of the canyons, even if I can’t figure out which one. Don’t you know the river can flood and change course suddenly in a storm??”

Mia dropped her face for a moment before she spoke again.

“I don’t have to explain anything to you,” She snapped. “I needed to be alone. I needed to get away from the family for a while.”

“Judging from this dream, you ‘needed’ something else entirely,” He challenged. “I can’t say how glad I am I didn’t let Seth see… him.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Mia’s face flushed. “Is it any of your business what happens in my dreams? I don’t control them like some people.”

“It’s more worrisome that you don’t control them,” Trace frowned. “You obviously like this young man, and you don’t know anything about him!”

“I know more than you think, and I haven’t dreamed about him before, this is probably just because–”

She caught herself before she continued, but Trace stared her down.

“Because…?”

Mia was a terrible liar. She was also usually very compliant with authority. So as her uncle raised his eyebrows for her to continue, she broke.

“Because we’re cuddled together for warmth. It’s cold outside!” She grimaced.

Trace held still, almost like a statue, before slowly bringing one hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“Did you have to use the word ‘cuddled’?” He asked after a moment. “Your father’s going to murder someone. It might be me.”

“Take him home!” Mia urged. “We’re fine, everything’s fine, I’ll come home when I’m done processing everything. Please, Uncle Trace!”

She faced him with her best pleading eyes. The dream version of Ford stared at them in blank confusion, and Trace waved his hand, making the pretend-man disappear.

“I have to convince you to come home,” Trace told her flatly. “My only other option is to convince Ford to bring you home.”

“You’re not going into his dreams, are you?” Mia asked with concern. Ford couldn’t be convinced, could he?

“After learning what I’ve learned here, I’m dreading what I would find in his dreams,” Trace visibly recoiled. “I don’t want to know, I don’t want to find out, and frankly, I’m not especially curious to know whether someone survives after I murder them in their sleep!”

“Uncle Trace!” Mia was horrified.

“I’m an honorable man, but you’re still my niece, and the closest thing I have to a daughter,” Trace warned. “I’ve met Ford all of one time before he stole you away on some crazy escapade he doesn’t even seem to understand!”

“What doesn’t he understand?” The girl demanded.

“What’s in that cave,” Trace told her seriously. “It’s not treasure. He’s either woefully misinformed or lying about what he knows.”

“What is in the cave?” Mia blinked at him, and Trace assessed her frankly.

“If I tell you, will you come home?” He asked.

“I’m certainly not changing my mind if you don’t tell me anything,” She countered.

“A tree. A tree that gives magical powers to those who take ones of its leaves,” Trace said. “If Ford actually wants wealth, he should abandon his quest to get to this cave and get a career. But is that what he wants?”

“He hasn’t lied to me,” Mia told him, but she was growing less confident by the moment. She’d suggested that a career was the best way to make money, but Ford had brushed her suggestion off as stilly.

“Please, come home,” Trace asked her again. “Your mother is very worried. We all are. We don’t know what kind of man Ford is. He’s lying to you, using you to get power. That tree… it corrupts people who spend too much time around it, Mia. It gives too much power, when you’re close to it. That’s why all the entrances were collapsed.”

“How do you know?” She challenged. “What happened all those years ago? It’s you and the rest of the family that continue to keep secrets and lie to me, not Ford!”

“Your grandparents got their powers from that tree,” Trace told her. “Do you remember that? And then for a while, we thought the tree was dead… until their powers came back over a year later. Anaisa and I knew it must have replenished itself from the live root she watered. It’s dangerous, Mia. No one should have that much power!”

“We have power,” She reminded him.

“Not like this,” He told her. “In the presence of the tree, magic gets stronger. It’s… unpleasant.”

“I’m not turning back. I need to go back to the cave, and remember it all for myself,” Mia pouted.

“You know we won’t give up,” Trace frowned at her.

“You should,” Mia told him. “I’ll come back when I’m ready. If you drag me home, I’ll just keep running off again. Interfering with this will only draw the whole matter out.”

“Why, Mia?” Her uncle’s shoulders sagged, and she felt guilt for a moment. She could imagine how much worse a state her father was in right now.

“Because I have a lot of memories, and feelings about them, that I don’t know what to do with. Please give me the space to sort it all out, in my own way, and trust that I’ve been raised well enough not to do anything truly unwise.”

“I wish I could,” Trace sighed.