Figment of Dreams
Chapter Twenty One: Paramirage me

I walked into his immaculate office and a waft of his winter crisp cologne drifted towards me. It was as if the man was frost himself. The way he greeted me sometimes made me think he literally was made of ice.

He had the weirdest, closed-off personality I had ever encountered. Like every sentence he said was thought about, processed and made perfect for delivery.

He was so completely different to his cheeky, incredibly annoying, but affectionate twin brother that I just couldn’t understand how they were even related in the first place if they didn’t share a face.

‘Lux, how are things going these first few days?’ Oak was glancing at the papers in front of him. His white shirt wrinkleless.

‘It’s going better than expected actually.’

He glanced upwards. Blue eyes darting over my face. He glanced down again.

‘Good.’

It stayed silent for a while. I was fidgeting on my seat, the leather creaking more loudly than I was expecting. I saw a newspaper on his desk, which still was reporting on the destruction of earth on its first page. I guess a lot of Rainers had died too, along with the blue planet. So it was going to be news for weeks.

He gave me a stern look, put the newspaper and the others papers to the side and clasped his hands in front of him. One eyebrow raised. The corner of his mouth in a little smirk. That was so much like his white haired brother that I couldn’t help but smirk back.

‘So today…’ he broke the silence. ‘We are doing a little something I’m sure you have never heard about on earth.’ He sat back, his own chair creaking as well. ’It’s called Paramirage, it’s something all Rainers can control to a certain degree and all Fae are masters at. Since you are human, you are vulnerable to this and I want to teach you how to block it out.’

I swallowed, that sounded scary to me.

‘Euh… okay… I guess. I’m not really sure what you mean but… let’s try it.’

He stood up and motioned for me to rise as well. ‘Join me on the couch.’

I followed and we sat down close together. His knees brushing mine. He took my hands, his were warm to touch and a lot rougher than I would have expected. Like he had some very intensive sports he was doing, this Rainer of many mysteries.

’You might feel a little nauseous, you might receive a certain pull. It’s normal. I’m here so nothing will happen to you.’ He squeezed my hands a little and I was hoping he couldn’t tell how nervous I was.

I took a deep breath. ‘Close your eyes Lux.’ So I did.

I felt a slight tingle at the back of my neck. I wanted to open my eyes again but he said. ‘Don’t open them Lux. Not until I tell you too.’

The tingle became a cold breeze. When it became unbearable I couldn’t handle it anymore. I was shivering. Teeth cackling. I opened my eyes to protest but I was suddenly in the middle of a snowcapped mountain top. Oak standing in front of me still holding my hands.

‘Impressive…’ he gave me a puzzling look. He didn’t seem to feel the cold. I was shaking out of my sneakers. ‘Oak, what the hell is this?’ teeth cackling. ‘How did we get here?’

He gave me another baffled look and was staring at my face with an expression I couldn’t quite place. The next second I was back on his couch. I was still shivering.

‘What the fuck…’ I cursed. ‘That was… not real?’

He scraped his throat and then realized he was still holding my hand. So he let go reluctantly.

‘You, miss Elmrose, surprise me more and more every day.’ He solemnly stated before rising.

‘We will practice this every sessions. I want you to remember where you are. Well trained Paramages can make sure they will not feel the cold.’

I could not believe what I was hearing. That any of it hadn’t been real. Then again, I had been fighting a Dark Stalker in my dreams for over a decade so something told me I was going to be good at Paramiraging and by the look in Oak’s eyes he had noticed it too.

Afterwards I had my science and mathematics class. Which I absolutely hated. I had no clue why I had to endure any of this on another planet but it was necessary apparently to stalk me with math throughout the galaxy.

Sebastian was the only familiar face in that gigantic aula. Which didn’t say much, considering I was here with over hundred other students and for all I knew Skylark, Kai and Jax were here somewhere.

Of all places to sit he had decided to take the empty seat next to me. Just to annoy me to death I suppose, which was one way to get rid of the little human. He had also had found other ways to reach me through my Telvice. On the Rivelbook, an open network of the Rivelling College, there was no block function. I could report him to the Dean, but that felt unnecessarily evil for the things he was doing. He was just commenting on everything I did on there and sending me a bunch of suggestive, sometimes funny I must admit, DM’s.

Today he came straight out of K-Pop video, with bright neon jeans and a white t-shirt with holes in it, golden chains which accompanied his golden bird necklace now and his hair in a slicked back fashion. He was even wearing some slight eyeliner. He was as schizophrenic in his style as he was with me.

‘Little bird.’ He greeted me and placed a muffin on my desk. ‘For you.’ It had a little smiley face on it made by small chocolate chips. He had dropped my little human nickname and replaced it with little bird. It was slightly better.

‘Thanks but I’ve just eaten breakfast.’ I was not trusting anything he offered. Not because I think he would hurt me, but because it would give him that inch he craved to get closer to me.

‘You wound me.’ He smirked and grabbed the muffin and started eating it himself. Chewing grotesquely I might add.

Ugh he was annoying.

‘I’m sure you’ll survive.’ I opened my Telvice and saw a sweet text from Kai which made me smile.

’Are you here to study love or to text with ya boyfriend?’ his tongue licked away some stray muffin and he took another big bite from the thing, dropping a lot of crumbs on our desks in the process. A waft of his signature clover scent drifted my way. I rolled my eyes and put the Telvice away.

’Clearly not to study when I have someone yapping in my ear all the time.’

He chuckled. ’You like it, admit it love.’ Another huge bite went down his mouth. Damn that man could eat. He saw me staring and also had noticed my unruly hair had slipped from behind my ear again. He reached for it.

‘Oh god and he is delusional.’ I had replied to his previous comment. I smacked his hand away when it was reaching for my hair again. ‘…and incredibly annoying.’

He full on laughed now which caused several students to turn around in their seats to stare at us but it had also gotten us the attention of Professor Lyo. He was an attractive Rainer, tall dark and handsome an about forty years old. He now had a murderous expression on his face when he noticed us interrupting his class. Sebastian found that a very exciting challenge. I did not found that so.

For the entire thirty minutes we had left he kept on irritating me. Throwing pieces of his left over muffin in the hairs of everyone in the rows in front of us, trying to predict my future by studying the palm of my hand which and I quote stated ’some very naughty sexy times with a handsome guy that had the letters astian in his name’ – I tried very hard not to laugh at that – or scribbling nonsense on the corners of my syllabus. Which I should have known he had been up to something since he had been quite for a few minutes too long. When the class was finally over I sighed in relief until I glanced down at my page, which was now full of pencil drawn dicks.

‘You are a child, Sebastian.’ I dryly added. ‘How am I going to study with those dicks all through the words on this page!’

He laughed. ’Maybe you need some real di-’ I hushed him in the same way as he had did me on Monday. One finger on his mouth to stop the filth from leaking out.

I was no demure girl, I had spent my entire childhood around Jax and trust me I had heard my fair share of sex talk. But something about Sebastian made it entirely too sexual on another level. I had realized my mistake as soon as I saw his eyes lit up. Instead of throwing some more sexual innuendo’s my way he actually licked my finger slowly. All the while looking at my reaction with sparkling, dangerous blue eyes.

I did a sharp intake of breath which I instantly regretted and took my finger back with a snarl. ‘Okay gross!’ I hastily threw some more words into the mix to distract him. ’Don’t… lick me.’ Wrong thing to say Lux.

‘That’s what she said.’ He winked. ‘Your turn now.’ He put his long index finger back on my lips and cocked his head to the side in a clear challenge. As if I would lick this guy’s finger!

It took me a few seconds too long to react and he had noticed. ‘Get that thing out of my face.’ I was now flustered. ‘I need to get to my next class.’ I rose up from my seat like it was on fire and gathered everything into my backpack. He wasn’t moving so I couldn’t cross the isle. ‘Move Sebastian.’

Instead of actually making room for me, he rose up slowly. He didn’t make room and he didn’t know anything about personal space either because now he was chest to chest with me. His smoke and clover scent enveloping me completely. He was really tall, almost two heads taller than I was so I had to crane my neck. The tension palpable. Nope not sexual, but really sexual at the same time. He moved to the side slowly.

‘Little birds can go first.’ He waved to the isle and I hauled ass out of there, away from Sebastian Barrington. Who, by all means, I really did not like. Or so I kept on telling myself.