January Dreams Carrigan Richards COPYRIGHT Text copyright © 2020 Carrigan Richards ASIN #B018W2DX7E All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes. If you are reading this book and you have not purchased it or won it in an author/publisher contest, this book has been pirated. Please delete and support the author by purchasing the ebook from one of its many distributors. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Cover design by Nick Taylor. Edited by Lindsey Alexander. To learn more about author Carrigan Richards, please visit her website at www.carriganrichards.com. DEDICATION To my dad, for believing in me every step of the way. COPYRIGHT DEDICATION Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty-One Chapter Twenty-Two Chapter Twenty-Three Chapter Twenty-Four Chapter Twenty-Five Chapter Twenty-Six Chapter Twenty-Seven Chapter Twenty-Eight Chapter Twenty-Nine Chapter Thirty Chapter Thirty-One Chapter Thirty-Two Chapter Thirty-Three Chapter Thirty-Four Chapter Thirty-Five Chapter Thirty-Six Chapter Thirty-Seven Chapter Thirty-Eight Chapter Thirty-Nine Chapter Forty Chapter Forty-One Chapter Forty-Two Chapter Forty-Three Chapter Forty-Four Chapter Forty-Five Chapter Forty-Six Chapter Forty-Eight ACKNOWLEDGMENTS PLAYLIST ABOUT THE AUTHOR ALSO BY CARRIGAN RICHARDS All that we see or seem Is but a dream within a dream. —Edgar Allan Poe, A Dream Within a Dream Chapter One Through the thick fog, I see a silhouette of a man, sauntering toward me. He is tall, lanky. I can’t see his face. I’m on my knees, in the middle of a forest, breathing hard as if I ran for miles. The leafless trees sway from the building wind. The cold is almost paralytic over my body and I do my best to stay alert of the mysterious man’s approach. He doesn’t seem to be in a rush as he keeps walking a steady pace. “Well, hello traitor,” he speaks in a deep voice. He found us and he’s going to kill me. “Please, don’t,” I beg. “You knew this would happen when you ran away with him.” “I never meant to hurt you. Please!” Clouds drift across the moon as rain starts pouring heavily, pounding into the ground. Stumbling to my feet, I start running. Faster. Fear grips me. “You can’t run from me,” the man screams. I pick up my speed, letting branches and wet leaves slap my face. He found us. It was stupid to run away. I know Casper is my enemy, but I love him. “Megan!” I hear Casper’s voice. With a sharp intake of breath, I come to a halt looking for him. My heart knocks against my ribs and an unusual excitement rushes through me. “Casper.” I whisper once I see him running toward me. “You won’t take her away.” He runs past me, and clashes with the dangerous man. The two wrestle until a gunshot echoes in the night. I jump, losing my breath. Neither of them move. No. “Casper?” I warily move toward them. “Megan, are you okay?” I relax when I hear his voice. Pushing the man off him, he gets to his feet and rushes up to me. His beautiful, brown eyes are intense as he checks me for injuries. Rain drips from his bleach blonde hair that stops just above his eyes. Placing my hands on either side of his angular face, I rub the slight stubble of his cheeks. “Casper,” I say. I’m shaking, not only from the cold. “He was going to kill us.” “Are you sure this is what you want? Being with me is dangerous.” “I’m not leaving you. I love you. I don’t care that we’re enemies.” His soft hand touches my face, and I close my eyes, loving his warmth. “I will protect you with my life.” What a foolish mess I’ve gotten us both into. “We’ll go back for the Nuummite Jewel when it’s safer. It’s too dangerous right now. We have to find another way.” “But without it, you’re not immortal.” “It doesn’t matter.” How can he say this? The Jewel is the only thing protecting him and we don’t have it. I can’t bear the thought of Casper dying. “Everything will be okay, Megan.” I wake with a start, sitting upright with my hand to my chest, trying to calm my pounding heart. What was that? It was just a dream. That’s all. Savannah, my mini-Jack Russell, burrows out from under the covers and sneezes. She yawns and stretches while looking at me sleepily. I settle back against my pillow, calmer now. But the fear of someone trying to kill me still grips my insides. And the intense feeling I got when Casper looked at me. Why on earth did I dream about Casper? Ugh. It’s not like I’ve been thinking about him or anything. I hate Casper Truitt. Actually, hate is such a nice word for the way I feel about him. He has no regard for anyone but himself and isn’t afraid to let anyone know. He hails from a stupid rich family and probably bathes in hundred dollar bills every night, at least, that’s what Cherry and I joke about. My room is dark, and I relax a little thinking I have a couple more hours before I have to get up, but when I check my clock, I curse, knowing I forgot to set the antiquated alarm. One hour late. I’m used to my phone where I program it and not have to worry about it, but Mom took it away. I kick off the covers and rush through my morning
