When the Day Met the Night

Adrian Ivashkov’s POV

I had been blocking myself from having dreams for the last couple of months, it was exhausting and I never woke up completely refreshed. In the end it was worth it I always dreamed about her in some way or another and the pain was worse than a thousand sleepless nights. When I realized I was standing in the court church's garden with the same statues I had blown up for Her grand escape a year ago, I knew tonight would be full of pain. Instead of seeing Her beautiful brunette hair I caught sight of the golden glow of Lissa’s spirit aura.

“Cousin, has anyone ever told you it is not nice to play with a man’s dreams.”

She smiled at me eyes full of pity.

“Adrian, I wish you would let yourself dream, maybe it would help with the pain to face it rather than hide from it altogether.”

“I always appreciate your wise words, your majesty.”

I bowed grandly at her.

“Adrian I came to you to ask for your advice or rather perspective on a strange occurrence I have run into. I found another spirit user and she’s human.”

She patted the space on the bench next to her offering me a seat, I ignored it and leaned against a tree across from her, crossing my arms over my chest, smirking.

“Cousin I think you may have indulged a bit more than usual.”

The comment earned me a stern look.

“I may be Queen, but I am allowed to have a drink every now and again. Don’t patronize me Adrian especially when it comes to indulging in one’s vices. Not only did I see a spirit aura surrounding her, I felt spirit when we touched.”

She lifted one hand towards me beckoning me to her.

“I want you to see for yourself, let me show you her.”

Lissa still offered her hand towards me. She was constantly learning new ways to use spirit, the newest addition was sending any given thought or memory of hers to someone through touch, a recent addition since the breaking of her bond with Her. I reached out placing my hand within hers. Lissa melted away and in her place stood a pale skinned beauty. Her hair and skin shone like moonlight, catching the light in the poorly lit bar in a way I could only describe as beautiful despite the setting. She wore overall jean shorts and a black crop top that stopped just above her hips. Her lips were a blush of pink and full almost like she would always have a permanent pout. Her eyes held my gaze the longest, which were such a deep blue they seemed to whisper secrets of the universe throughout her irises. I broke my gaze and the connection finding myself staring back at Lissa. She looked at me waiting patiently for my response.

“I’ll visit her tonight, anything for my dear cousin.”

Lissa stood up from the bench and as the dream faded she spoke one last sentence.

“Adrian this isn’t just for me, it is for you too.”

Tonight was going to be full of dreams, at least none of them were my own. A simple café setting took place, I held two coffees in my hands as I walked towards her golden light. She had made herself comfortable in a small alcove in the corner of the cafe. She sat in an oversized chair feet crossed and tucked under her making her seem like a small child. This time she sported an overly large but obviously loved maroon knitted sweater with jean shorts and black band tee of some kind. Unlike most women these day she had chosen to keep her hair shoulder length; at the moment it hung slightly in her face were it had obviously fallen from where she had tucked it behind her ears. I approached her, setting down one of the coffees in front of her.

"Queen of the Damned, are you a vampire enthusiast? ”

She pulled the book down slightly I could see her eyes peering at me over the top of her novel. God those eyes, it was like she was peering into my soul and swallowing me whole, all in one glance. She closed the book and placed it upon her lap.

“They say you can never dream of a stranger, that somewhere, at a certain moment in your lifetime you have met them before.”

She tilted her head slightly, looking me up and down.

“You look like an over dramatized edit of an angel surrounded in golden light.”

“I’m not quite sure if that was a compliment or an insult, but either way I am no angel, you are closer to to being angelic than I will ever be.”

I gently lifted her hand to my lips and placed a kiss upon it.

“Adrian Ivashkov, and yourself?”

She did not withdraw her hand and continued to hold my gaze. She looked as if she was focusing hard on solving a riddle.

“It’s Valencia, your light keeps shifting colors like a mood ring I used to have as a kid. I’ve never seen anything like this before, even in a dream. Is it always tinged with a bit of golden light?”

I dropped her hand. Maybe Lissa had been right, she seemed to have all the right traits to be another spirit user, but a human also? I decided to play on the slim chance she would be more open to wild notions, since she seemed to consciously know this was a dream.

“You have the same light around you also, you know. I know a handful of people who have the same golden aura. They’re spirit users, all of them are Moroi.”

She tilted her head once again, only slightly, it seemed to be a quirk she did quite often, and to my surprise I found it quite attractive.

“I don’t think I usually dream about supernatural beings, this is a first. You remind me of my new roommate though, something isn’t quite right about you, I can’t place my finger on it.”

She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest, the permanent pout she had due to the plump of her lips deepened. She had no clue, but something about her intuition told her things were not as they seemed. I took a swig of my coffee, anything in a dream whether food or drink always tasted wonderful. She raised her eyebrows at my satisfied expression and picked hers up.

“If this is my dream why did you bring me coffee? I hate coffee.”

She made a face clearly disappointed in my choice of beverage.

“Who said this was your dream, my dear Valencia, you know what they say when you assume things.”

“You already seem like an ass.”
She said as she placed her cup back on the table.

“I won’t deny that, but you seem to be more like me than you would like to think.”

I stood from our small table. I was getting bored, I had seen the proof I needed and now I had to do more research on my own.

“You never told me your full name, I offered mine.”

She peered up at me again catching me in the endless deep blue of her eyes.

“Valencia Nimue Johnson.”

I started to let myself slide from her dream.

“Till we meet again my dear, Valencia.”

This time I didn’t let myself fall into another dream, instead forcing myself to wake up to reality. Maybe Lissa was right, it might be time to face my fears and the pain. Maybe the time had come to stop hiding from it. I was bored of drowning myself in alcohol and women every other night at court and I knew, because fate was cruel, that she would always be a part of my life. Plus I finally had found something that piqued my interest, at least enough for me to sober up a bit more than usual. Rose Hathaway be damned, I wanted to know more about Valencia.