Destined for Dreams: Book One by Ginna Moran Read Free Book Online

dream invading girl.
    “I honestly don’t know. Maybe a demon or something.”
    “Are you afraid of her?”
    “No.”
    “Are you lying?”
    “No!” Jacqueline’s voice echoes in the quiet night and I prepare myself to be thrown into the void. She’s never slipped up before in front of someone, but I think Nadia has her on edge. Jacqueline closes her eyes and thinks, “Ugh! I can’t believe you made me do that!” Her voice booms around me, but I don’t say anything.
    Nadia looks over her shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
    Jacqueline swallows. “I’m sorry. Bug.”
    Jacqueline stares at the grass for a moment and picks up her pace so she’s walking next to Nadia. It’s harder to be distracted by me if she’s distracted by someone else. I don’t apologize or say anything either. It’s better if I keep to myself for a while so she’ll forget about her outburst. And then maybe she’ll find out more about Nadia for me. I learn a lot about someone from just their interactions with Jacqueline.
    It’s nice looking forward to something other than death.
     
     
    NADIA
     
    I wish Mr. Soto hadn’t forced me to take Jacqueline to the dining hall. It’s extremely uncomfortable sitting at a table with a plate full of food in front of me that I just push around with a fork instead of eating. I’m too distracted by thoughts of Hunter to even try to act normal.
    Jacqueline’s eyes shift from lavender to hazel and I blink a few times and hope she doesn’t notice how intensely I’m staring at her.
    Her eyes let Hunter shine through and I wonder if he’s trying to communicate with me. I’m intrigued by who he is and whether or not he’s portraying himself accurately. In dream worlds, I can manifest however I want because I’m not what the dreamer sees. The dreamer sees what scares them most. Whether it’s a person or animal, even a certain situation—I create it to torment them. I don’t like to, but it’s necessary. The hungrier I am, the quicker the dream goes, but the more intense it is. If I visit too often, the sleeper will eventually go insane.
    “Well this is fun,” Alyssa says. She twists the ends of her red hair around her index finger. “You both look out of it.”
    Jacqueline shakes her head. “What?” She blinks and picks up a fry and then drops it. “I’m sorry. I have a lot on my mind.”
    My eyes shift to Alyssa and back to Jacqueline. “Is something bothering you, Jacqueline? You’ve been quiet.”
    “I was just thinking about how different this place is from the outside world. I don’t feel scared and I haven’t even looked behind me once since I got here. It’s nice not having to worry about humans.”
    I stare at my hands. I shouldn’t hold it against her, but I can’t stop my heart from hurting as her words sink in. She doesn’t know that my mother was human—and a good person. She accepted my father regardless of what he was, and even went as far as dying to keep his—our secret—safe from the HPA, the council’s one true enemy.
    Alyssa clears her throat. “You have to know all humans aren’t out to get us.”
    “I’ve been able to survive because I don’t trust them,” Jacqueline retorts.
    Alyssa eyes me and I shrug. I fidget in my seat. I don’t know if it’s worth the effort to continue this discussion. It’d only be fair to warn Jacqueline that the compound isn’t anti-human and one of our very own council members is human, but instead I slide my chair back and stand up. “We should probably get back to the dorm, Lys.” I turn to Jacqueline. “Can you find your way back to the guest apartments?”
    She nods, absently nibbling on a fry.
    I turn my back on Jacqueline and walk toward the door with Alyssa on my heels. I can’t shake the bad feeling in my stomach created by Jacqueline. Without even saying a word, I know she’s keeping so many secrets. Not only Hunter, but about what her plan is and why she’s really here.
    But I’m determined to find