Revived (The Lucidites Book 3) by Sarah Noffke Page B

I’ve been cursed with the opportunity to teach you about dream invasion. Oh, woe is me. Good thing I have such a sunny disposition.”
    Dream invasion. It’s how the Lucidites originally contacted me. It’s how Aiden informed me he was still alive while being held captive in the Grotte. And, it’s how Chase regularly enters my dreams, forcing himself onto me.
    “Do you know how lucky you are to have private lessons with me?” Ren says, breaking into my reverie.
    “This is luck?” I say without emotion. “Remind me to throw away my rabbit’s foot.”
    “Dream invasion,” Ren begins, ignoring me, “can be avoided but only if you control every aspect of your sleeping dreams by limiting what can be introduced. It’s actually quite a fun way to dream. A caveat is that your subconscious still can introduce things into the dream that aren’t limited. So don’t be surprised if you’re eating a scone that turns into a squirrel and then the Queen of England sits down and tells you that you just ate her pet. You can control the location, the details, and pretty much everything else. But there will be surprises. If you’re doing your job, as I’ll teach how to do, then Chase will be forbidden from entering. He won’t know you’re dreaming or even that it’s a possibility that he could visit. He’ll simply be banned without evidence as to why.”
    “Trey told you to teach this to me, didn’t he? What if I decide I don’t want to stop Chase? What if I decide that I want Chase to visit my dreams so I can ask him why he wants me in the first place?”
    “Well, you can do whatever you like. Certainly you do that already, don’t you?” He sneers. “Thing is, Chase is about as likely to tell you why he’s after you as I am to indulge you on that fact. We both have simply nothing to gain by revealing this information. So go ahead, allow him into your dreams. You’ve got nothing to lose…well, except your virginity or whatever other innocence you’re pretending to have at this point in your adolescence.”
    “Fine, tell me what I need to know to keep creeps out of my dreams,” I say, slouching down in the chair.
    For over an hour Ren divulges every last thing he thinks will help me guard my dreams against invasions. I don’t take notes and pretend I’m barely listening, but still I absorb every word he says.
    Finally, he leans back in his chair, eyeing his gold ring like it’s a new piece of jewelry. “You know, Trey isn’t the monster you want him to be.”
    “Coming from you that means nothing.”
    “Oh, I get it, you like to pretend my opinion is worthless.”
    “In regards to my personal life, it is,” I say. “You love to give me your unsolicited opinion. But I think we’re close enough that I can tell you I don’t give a damn what you think.”
    He smirks. “You know, that was quite the performance you gave this morning in Room 222. Think you might have even ruffled some feathers, if it makes you feel better.”
    “Glad you enjoyed my raw, unfiltered emotions.”
    “You got a recorder?”
    “A what?” I ask.
    “A voice recorder.”
    “No, why?”
    “Too bad, you could record what I’m about to say next. It’s the only direct compliment you may ever hear from me.”
    “Well, I’ve got a memory like an elephant, so fire away.”
    “You’re just like your father.”
    “Is that my compliment?”
    “Indeed it is,” he says, propping his red leather shoes up on his desk.
    “As I said before, keep your opinions to yourself. You obviously have a skewed sense of judgment.”
    “You’re a real heartbreaker, aren’t you? Why don’t you use that to tear Chase’s heart out?”
    I lean forward, daring to put my face inches from Ren’s. “I have every intention of doing just that.”
    He doesn’t budge, but does allow a pleased grin to unfurl. “Good girl. I knew my efforts wouldn’t be completely wasted on you. Now get out of here before your presence zaps me of the will to