Page 54 of Visions of You

"And now you have my number, too," he said.

Keegan pulled out his phone and looked at the text Jaron had sent: "Get some sleep. I'll see you in your dreams ;)"

Keegan rolled his eyes, but Jaron caught the hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"I'll be back tonight," Jaron promised. "We can tackle this fate thing together, okay? Two heads are better than one and all that."

Keegan sighed. "I don't know if-"

"Nope," Jaron interrupted, holding up a hand. "No arguments. I'm helping, and that's final."

Keegan looked like he wanted to protest again, but then he just shook his head, a wry smile on his face. "Your mind really is just as unchangeable as fate, huh?"

"Damn right," Jaron said. He reached out, brushing his fingers along Keegan's cheek. "Do get some rest, okay? I will be back tonight."

Keegan leaned into the touch for a moment before pulling away. "I'll try," he said, but Jaron had a feeling that Keegan wouldn't take his advice.

Jaron rested a hand on Keegan's shoulder. "Want a snack before I go?" Maybe some blood would help his vampire feel better.

Keegan's sharp gaze settled on Jaron's neck in a way that made something warm unfold in Jaron's gut. Ultimately, though, he shook his head. "I can't seem to drink from you without seeing visions of us."

"What kind of visions?"

Keegan smiled faintly. "Happy ones."

Those words made all the rest of Jaron light up too. "Sounds like a good thing to me."

Keegan's expression changed to one of longing, but only for a split second, then he averted his gaze. "Makes it difficult to focus on anything else," he said. "And I need to focus on finding a way to make that future possible."

Jaron couldn't argue with that. It tugged at his heart, Keegan's determination to make them possible.

"I'll see you tonight," he said, but he wasn't going to leave without a kiss. He leaned down to press a quick peck to Keegan's lips, suppressing the dragon inside of him that demanded more than that.

One day he'd get that. Maybe even tonight.

He'd try, anyway.

Keegan reached for another book after Jaron left, but the letters quickly swam before his eyes. Fatigue weighed on him, a dull ache behind his forehead. He squinted and rubbed at his temples, frustration bubbling up. A sigh escaped him. His mind kept drifting back to Jaron.

He shouldn't have mentioned the sacrifice. Jaron wasn't the kind of person who could stomach that kind of thing. Underneath all his attitude, he was too sweet, too kind. He needed to be protected from the cruelty of their fate, not burdened with it.

Too late for that now.

Jaron wasn't going to forget what Keegan had told him so carelessly.

Biting back a sigh, Keegan made himself focus on the book in front of him again. Maybe it would tell him something to solve his issue.

The words blurred, though, after only a little while. His head nodded forward, eyes closing of their own volition. Sleep crept in.

He wasn't surprised to dream of Jaron.

In the dream, Jaron stood in an alley, his posture tense and defensive, wings spread as if he wanted to make himself appear bigger. He wasn't alone; a young mortal girl clung to his side, her eyes wide with terror. A figure Keegan didn't recognize lurked at the alley's entrance. A mage? They were murmuring incantations that sounded more than a little threatening.

Jaron said something to the mortal and then placed himself between her and the mage. His normally cocky expressionhardened into one of fierce determination while the girl pressed herself against the wall, trying to make herself as small as possible.

The mage at the mouth of the alley raised both hands, eyes glowing a pale, eerie blue. They chanted quickly, their voice growing louder with each syllable.

Keegan couldn't make out the words, but he got their intent. He wanted to shout for Jaron to get out of there, but the dream held him as a helpless observer.