Chapter 1
Dreama settled on a thick tree branch in an old oak and looked into the window of the second-story home. A pale blue light in the room, which came courtesy of a cute nightlight shaped like a fish, illuminated the interior. The wind blew, rustling her long hair, and making her wish she’d remembered to grab a hair tie before she headed out for work.
The tree swayed slightly, and the branch creaked as her father joined her. A bit of sweet-dreams-sand fluffed up from his clothes.
“Hey, Dad,” she said, nudging him with her elbow and smiling. “What are you doing in Iowa?”
He held out his hand, and she laughed as she saw a package of Tim Tams, her favorite Aussie treat.
“I take it you were in Australia?” she asked as she opened the package and handed him one of the cookies.
“Of course.”
“You know you can buy these in the states now? The Internet had changed commerce dramatically.”
“They’re better when they’re actually from Australia.”
“You don’t say.”
“Are you worried about this house for some reason?”
“A little. His happy dreams keep turning into nightmares. I used stronger sand, but I wanted to make sure it worked before I left.”
He hummed, turned his attention to the room, and gazed through the window. She knew he was using his power to see the dreams of the little boy. When she’d shown up earlier, the sweet-dream-sand had sent him off to sleep immediately, but the dreams disappeared in the wake of a frightening image of a scary clown. The second dose of sand hadn’t worked long, either, which was why she’d increased the dose. He’d been asleep for a half hour now, which she knew was long enough to know that he’d sleep soundly, and peacefully, through the night.
Her father shook his head. “Ugh, clowns.”
“I know, right? Must have watched a scary movie.”
“Night’s waning, sweetie,” he said, moving off the branch and hovering in the air. Shimmering sand cascaded from him, catching on the breeze and twisting away in curlicues.
“I know.” She hopped off the branch. Her power allowed her to float alongside her father, unseen by the humans and their children. “I was just leaving, I promise, boss.”
He chuckled. “You know I have utter faith in you to do your job well.”
“I know.”
“Stop by for dinner tomorrow?”
“You bet.”
He blew her a kiss and disappeared in a swirl of golden sand, leaving her hovering just outside the window of the little boy. She took one last look at his dreams, satisfied he was sleeping well, and then headed off to her next assignment.
Dream walking was something she was born to do. As the only daughter of Sandman, she’d grown up following him at work and stepping into humans’ dreams. She and her father mostly walked in the dreams of children, promoting sweet and restful sleep. They could walk in adults’ dreams, too, but adult humans could be tricky. If they had zero belief in magic, then the sand didn’t affect them.
Dreama was a supernatural being, able to transport at will to anywhere on the planet. Well, almost anywhere. She couldn’t go to North Pole City, where Santa, Mrs. Claus, elves, and shifters lived and worked. NPC was closed to any supernatural creatures except for those who were under SC’s protection. The ban had been in place for centuries and stemmed from a feud between SC and Jack Frost, although the details of the city’s closure were unknown to her. Her father and SC had been friends once upon a time. Almost all the supernatural creatures were close, from the Easter Bunny to the Tooth Fairy. Except for Jack, who didn’t appear to get along with anyone and kept to himself. She occasionally saw Jack when she was working, but she had never spoken to him.
Dreama wasn’t immortal like her father, because she was half-fae. Dreama’s mother was a fairy who could control animals. Dreama hadn’t been gifted with any fae powers; instead, she inherited her father’s powers when she was young. Her mother hadn’t been much of a presence in her life. Shortly after Dreama was born, her mother mated a fae male from a powerful, ruling family, and he hadn’t wanted a half-dream walker as a step-daughter, so Dreama’s father had raised her.
Her father had never married. There were other dream walkers, but none of the females were single. Since he was immortal, he said he’d wait until he found his mate, and he hoped that she would also be immortal, but there weren’t many races with immortality.
Turning her attention back to her job, she pulled a handful of sand from her bag and moved over a line of houses. The sand sifted through her fingers as she moved by each house, finding the sleeping little ones and giving them sweet dreams. She glanced at their dreams as she moved, ensuring that none were tormented by nightmares, and then she continued on her way.
She paused at the window of a couple. They were embraced in sleep, the man holding the woman as if he couldn’t rest well without her presence. She peeked into their dreams and found the man was dreaming about work and the woman about gardening. Although their dreams weren’t about love, she could feel how much they loved each other, could sense it in the way they stayed close in sleep. As she moved on to the next home on her work list, she wondered if she’d ever find a male who would hold her like that. Who, even in sleep, would be protective and loving.
Dreama hadn’t gone on a date in ages. As busy as she was at night, working when others were out partying or sleeping, she didn’t have much opportunity to find romance. Someday, though. Someday she’d find a male to love her and start a family of her own.