Supernatural Encounters

Chapter 24

Where am I?

As Harper looks around, nothing looks familiar. All around her are towering crags of ice and snow, below her is a path of polished ice so clear that it resembles glass, while above her hangs a swollen moon with a scattering of stars surrounding it. As she stares up at the heavens, a shooting star darts across the sky with another one following after it. Soon the shooting stars brighten the night sky and steal her breath away.

The sound of footsteps breaks the silent that filled the valley and causes Harper to tear her gaze away from the beauty above. Turning, she feels her stomach drop as she sees Misha walking towards her. After everything she learned, she wanted a day or two to process her feelings before talking to him, but it looks like her desires go unanswered yet again.

"Beautiful, isn't it," the dragon says, stopping a few feet away from her. "When I was a kid, I used to love watching the meteor showers from this spot."

"Where are we?" Harper slid one of her feet back behind her in case she needed to run. "Last I remember I was at home with Kye and Talon."

"And you are still there. This is just a dream." Misha stretches his arms out and waves to the setting around them. "It is based on a real place, my dad's place, but this is all happening in your head right now but your body is still at home."

"Yeah, that's not as comforting as I think you think it is." In all honesty, she is terrified right now. Having Alistar have access to her mind is awkward but at least she knows when it happened and why. But how is Misha in her dream and why? Because this world has to be his creation, and right now Harper isn't sure if she can trust anything Misha says, let alone creates. " I'd rather my mind and body be in the same place, thank you. So if you could just help me wake up, that'd be great."

"Wait!" He reaches out a hand and grabs her shoulder, causing Harper to flinch. His expression morphs into one of hurt but he does let go. However, he still stays close enough to reach her, setting off several alarm bells in her mind. "I just wanted to talk to you alone. Without protective brothers and boyfriends. I miss you. I miss how we used to talk for hours about everything and nothing. How you could make me feel vulnerable but safe at the same time. I wanted an evening for things to be like they used to be."

"But they can't be Misha! Nothing can ever be the way it used to be! You left me years ago. You made the choice to leave, and when you did that, everything changed permanently.

Maybe it isn't a great idea to yell at the man who brought her into a world of his own creation but Harper no longer cared. Years of anger and days of fear and frustration have finally boiled over and now she has a captive audience to hear her complaints.

"Do you know that the first year after you left I had daydreams and fantasies of you coming back and apologizing. Of you begging for my forgiveness. Hell, I'm ashamed to admit that part of me wanted to beg you to tell me what I did wrong so I could fix it so you'd come back. Eventually I realized that you were gone for good. And guess what disappeared when you did. The way things used to be!"

At this point Harper is unable to see Misha's face due to the tears streaming down her face, but she is grateful for that. If she saw a look of devestation on his face, she would be tempted to stop her rant and start trying to soothe the hurt she caused. However, if she saw any hint of rage in his eyes, then every memory of him and the love they shared would be far more tainted than it already is, and she isn't sure she is ready to erase the memories of him completely.

Misha reaches out and cups a hand around her elbow. "I did it to protect you," he whispers, a hint of desperation leaking out even though his face is expressionless. "Can't you see that?"