Dreamer Read online

  Table of Contents

  Dreamer | Rise of the Fianna | Book Three | Amy Brock McNew

  Also by Amy Brock McNew

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE | Madness

  CHAPTER TWO | Dreamer

  CHAPTER THREE | Not Strong Enough

  CHAPTER FOUR | I Refuse

  CHAPTER FIVE | Shoot to Kill

  CHAPTER SIX | Whore

  CHAPTER SEVEN | And We Run

  CHAPTER EIGHT | Missing Words

  CHAPTER NINE | Play With Fire

  CHAPTER TEN | The Promise Inside

  CHAPTER ELEVEN | Bad Dream

  CHAPTER TWELVE | Sabotage

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN | You Should See Me In A Crown

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN | Sweet Curse

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN | Hold Up a Light

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN | Empires

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN | Let Me Love You

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN | Ashes

  CHAPTER NINETEEN | Point Of No Return

  CHAPTER TWENTY | Bring Me To Life

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE | Destiny

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO | What Lies Ahead

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE | One More Day

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR | I’m Not Afraid

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE | We Carry On

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX | Missile

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN | Rule The World

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT | Becoming A Legend

  About the Author

  Dreamer

  Rise of the Fianna

  Book Three

  Amy Brock McNew

  COPYRIGHT ⌐2018 AMY Brock McNew

  Dreamer Rise of the Fianna Book Three

  Written by: Amy Brock McNew

  Published by: Amy Brock McNew/ Amaeris Designs Productions

  Cover Design: Tracie Douglas of Dark Water Covers

  Cover Model: Connor Smith

  Photography: Reggie Deanching of RPlusM Photography

  Editing: Amaeris Designs Productions

  Formatted by: Draft 2 Digital

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotes for review.

  Also by Amy Brock McNew

  Now Available:

  The Reluctant Warrior Chronicles

  Reformation: The Beginning (prequel novella)

  Rise of the Fianna

  Sleeper

  Awakened

  Table of Contents

  1.) Madness

  2.) Dreamer

  3.) Not Strong Enough

  4.) I Refuse

  5.) Shoot To Kill

  6.) Whore

  7.) And We Run

  8.) Missing Words

  9.) Play With Fire

  10.) The Promise Inside

  11.) Bad Dream

  12.) Sabotage

  13.) You Should See Me In A Crown

  14.) Sweet Curse

  15.) Hold Up A Light

  16.) Empires

  17.) Let Me Love You

  18.) Ashes

  19.) Point Of No Return

  20.) Bring Me To Life

  21.) Destiny

  22.) Far From Home (The Raven)

  23.) What Lies Ahead

  24.) One More Day

  25.) I’m Not Afraid

  26.) We Carry On

  27.) Missile

  28.) Rule The World

  29.) Becoming a Legend

  For all of the fans of the Rise of the Fianna trilogy

  You are the reason this story exists.

  You are a warrior and you are powerful.

  Never stop dreaming or fighting.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Madness

  “Damn it, Bri! Watch it! You singed my fuckin’ hair!”

  Makenna growled as Amanda and Brianna bit their lips, trying to hide their laughter.

  Why was it she’d wanted sisters again?

  Patting the end of her ponytail, Makenna grinned. They might get on her nerves, but at least they weren’t as bad as Talon. Their brother lived to terrorize them. Was this what every family was like? She had to admit, she loved their inside jokes and attempts to one up the other, though. Their pranks were a fantastic distraction from the things she didn’t want to think about.

  Like the reason they were standing knee deep in mud on the edge of the bayou.

  Brianna bumped Makenna’s shoulder. “You should be faster, dear sister.” The mage of the trio winked. “Apparently speed isn’t one of the perks of being queen.”

  Amanda laughed. “Hey, a few burnt ends on your hair is worth it. I mean, she did take out the two assholes guarding the portal with one shot.”

  Makenna shook her head with a laugh, then glanced at Rhys. His stern features sobered her right up. They were here to do a job. A deadly serious one. But the antics kept her from losing her mind and held at bay the terror of what could happen if they failed.

  Failure wasn’t an option.

  Rhys moved forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with her as they faced the sucking black hole tearing into their world. The portal shimmered around the edges, almost like a halo. That light faded into a void that led to a world Makenna didn’t want to think about. A world containing walking nightmares she could never have imagined until she met them face to face. And she’d met far too many in the past few months.

  They were here to close yet another portal. A portal that had either opened on its own, feeding on the dark energy Kylian had forced Brianna to unleash, or had been opened in this specific spot by Sloane.

  Problem was, they had no freaking clue which it was.

  Rhys’ old friend, Sloane, who’d been Kylian’s Beta, had spent the months since Kylian’s defeat dishing out his own brand of horror. He’d opened portals to Alainn, the Fianna home world, that had been sealed long ago, setting loose an untold number of beasts on a world that wasn’t equipped to handle them. Or at least, they assumed it was Sloane. He’d promised they hadn’t seen the last of him. According to Rhys, this seemed exactly how the male would announce his presence.

  Makenna had no idea. Her only interaction with him had been a few tense moments on a battlefield he’d quickly disappeared from.

  After he’d nearly taken Rhys from her.

  She shuddered. That battle still ate at her soul. Not just because she’d almost lost the love of her life, but because the Triad had been forced to take their own mother’s heart. She feared she’d never shake the ghosts of that horrific night. It threatened to devour her in her dreams. When the guilt let her sleep.

  Rhys’ rough hand caressed her arm. “Love, are you all right?”

  Through their bond, he could sense her thoughts and emotions. Sometimes better than others, but especially when they were connected mentally and magically, as they were right now, with her sisters, to have the power to close the portal. But he knew she sometimes needed to audibly hear his concern, his words of love.

  Makenna kissed his shoulder before turning back to the portal. “Five by five.” They lie rolled off her tongue.

  Rhys frowned, but didn’t call her on it.

  Talon, Trystan, and Brenton stood at their backs, eyes scanning the area. They protected the sisters and Rhys as they completed their task. A heated, tortured look passed between Brianna and Brenton. What the hell was that about? She’d never seen them interact. In fact, they seemed to go out of their way to avoid each other.

  Makenna shook her head and tried to rega
in her focus. “Let’s zip this fucking hole and get back home.” She extended her hands, just as her sisters did.

  Since she and Rhys had melded the god and goddess, it gave them immeasurable power. But Rhys often connected magically with the sisters for an extra layer of power out of caution. They wanted to be certain the portals couldn’t be opened again.

  Too bad they couldn’t keep others from ripping into their world.

  Now. Makenna yelled the word through the Triad’s bond.

  Flame leapt from their hands. Makenna and Rhys’ nearly burgundy, Brianna’s almost as dark, and Amanda’s a deep, bleeding red. The colors indicated their power level. As the Alpha pair, Makenna and Rhys’ was much darker than the others.

  A fact Makenna knew grated on Brianna. Though she’d been different since they’d returned from taking out Kylian, there was an undercurrent Makenna knew could become a problem if they didn’t deal with it. Makenna’s wolf growled while the goddess’ eyes narrowed on her sister. Her raven let out an irritated squawk.

  That was a thought for another time.

  The four streams of fire converged in the center of the vortex. An unholy wail rang through the cypress trees, scattering birds and wildlife. Makenna would have covered her ears if she hadn’t been used to it. The magic of the portals always fought them, screeching the entire time. Still they pressed on, pouring power into the void. The portal wavered. A black cloud pulsed from the center, billowing toward them. It latched onto the flame and pushed back. The tear in reality surged. Trees ripped from the ground by the roots and flew past them as they ducked, sucked into the nothing before them.

  Sweat formed on Makenna’s brow. Her tattered Rolling Stones T-shirt stuck to her skin even more than it already did in the Louisiana heat. She pushed back harder. Never before had a portal lashed back in this way. She glanced at Rhys out of the corner of her eye as concern whipped through their link.

  Sloane was upping his game.

  They held their ground as Talon, Trystan, and Brenton tensed. Trystan moved closer to his mate, Amanda, pressing a hand to her back as she sagged. Rhys gripped the back of Makenna’s neck with his free hand. Even though he was bowing under the weight of the power lashing back at them, he fed her strength. Talon stood sentinel, feeding his sisters what power he could through the pack link and their familial bond. Along with it, she felt a healthy dose of regret. She didn’t have time to figure that out, or why he’d been acting so weird lately. Brenton moved within reach of Brianna, but didn’t touch her. He stood back to back with her, a pained look on his face.

  The wind picked up as the howling from the portal amplified. It whipped around them, flinging branches and debris. Makenna’s skin stung as bits of wood and reeds tore into her flesh.

  Calling on the goddess, she let the ancient take over. Something she didn’t do often because the power was a bitch to control. A new surge of magic flared across the Triad’s bond. All three women stood taller, shoulders back. Just as the portal began to collapse, a voice floated from the ether.

  “Relish your victory here. It will be one of your last.”

  Goosebumps broke out on Makenna’s skin. She raised her other hand and shoved another wall of flame toward the portal.

  It screamed before collapsing in on itself. The flying debris abruptly fell to the ground. The sisters sagged into the arms of their men. Brenton caught Brianna. Her eyes flew wide and she immediately jerked away. The raw agony on Brenton’s face tore at Makenna.

  Since blooding into their pack months ago, the male had proved himself over and over in battle. Makenna counted him among her closest friends now. To see him in such pain hurt her as well. Both as his friend and Alpha.

  “Kenna, are you all right?” Rhys whispered against her temple. His voice comforted her as his warm breath sent a shiver down her spine. He always had that effect on her.

  “Just tired.”

  She allowed herself a moment to enjoy his hands caressing her before pulling back. Makenna kissed him hard. No matter how much using her power exhausted her, it always seemed to rev her up when it came to her mate. The adrenaline and residual power needed an outlet. Rhys’ eyes darkened in response and his need for her raced across their bond.

  “Let’s get home. Quickly.” He kissed her once more before stepping away. She got the sense if he didn’t, he’d end up ripping her clothes off and slamming her against the nearest tree, audience be damned.

  She felt the same way.

  “Could you two tone it down?” Brianna grumbled and backed further away from Brenton. She made a point of avoiding his gaze. “We’re still connected, remember? I really don’t need to know what you’re thinking about doing to each other.”

  Makenna shook her head, laughing. “I’ll take care of that.”

  She closed her eyes and shut off the connection between the three of them. They’d learned the goddess had the power to basically put a lid on the bond so they didn’t have to hear each other’s thoughts unless they required it for battle. That had been a huge relief. For the couple weeks it’d taken them to figure that out, they’d driven each other crazy.

  She loved her sisters, but no way did they need that much fucking closeness.

  When she opened her eyes, her sisters’ voices no longer echoed in her mind. Her singular thoughts turned to Sloane. They hadn’t been searching for him as hard as they should. They hadn’t had the time. He’d had them chasing their tails, closing portal after portal. But after the message he sent through the portal-she’d have to talk to Bowen and figure out how he’d done that-her gut told her it was time to start the hunt in earnest.

  Rhys’ features tightened as he sensed her thoughts. Something flickered in his eyes and she felt a part of him close off. She didn’t like it. They’d been through this before. But she let it go. He’d tell her when he was ready. She had to trust him.

  Rhys nodded toward the group. “Let’s head home. We’ll meet tomorrow morning to discuss our next move.” His expression softened as the others began to shift and he turned toward Makenna. “Tonight we’ll talk about what you want to do to celebrate our anniversary.” He gripped her hips and tugged her into his hardness. Their bond flared with heat. “I can hardly believe it’s been a year since we mated.”

  Makenna froze. She’d forgotten their anniversary was in a couple weeks. Damn it. Nerves rattled her stomach. She’d never celebrated an anniversary before. Never kept anyone around long enough. Not that any of the men she’d screwed were worth keeping around.

  Rhys growled and wrapped a hand in her ponytail, yanking her head back. “Don’t even think about those poll asals. You’re mine now.” He kissed her almost violently, as if staking his claim all over again.

  Makenna growled back, the beasts inside pushing against her skin for contact with their mate. She broke away, breathless. “And you’re mine.”

  “Aye.” His eyes glittered as he smiled. It faded a bit as seriousness settled in the lines of his face. Her pulse quickened when nervousness flitted between them. “Maybe with the war over now, we could perhaps discuss the idea of pups.” He brushed hair away from her face as her chest seized. Boy, he was all over the place tonight. “I cannot wait to have wee ones that are a piece of each of us, love.” He slipped into his brogue while his lips caressed her forehead.

  Makenna nodded. At the moment, she couldn’t form words to save her life. She wouldn’t have known what to say if she could. While she wanted to give Rhys at least one, she wasn’t ready for it right now. She was still learning her magic, learning to be Alpha, learning who she was. And even though the war was over and Kylian was dead, they still fought. The beasts crawling through those portals were multiplying daily. How could she bring a child into that chaos?

  She hid her thoughts from her mate. “We can talk about it.”

  A shadow swam in his eyes, like he knew what she kept from him. But he pasted on that devilish smile that never failed to turn her into a quivering mess. “We’ll talk. Until then, I b
elieve some practice is in order. Show me your raven and let’s fly home together.”

  Closing her eyes, Makenna let the bird take over. That now familiar pleasure pain of the shift swept through her. When she opened her eyes, Rhys’ majestic bird stood before hers. Their beaks met and they nuzzled each other for a moment before taking flight.

  Watching their pack run below, Makenna let the freedom wash over her. It was still an adjustment, being two different animals and a goddess. But times like this, she relished it. She pushed her worrying thoughts away and rode the air currents with her mate.

  There were so many things she didn’t want to think about. Things that terrified her. Like whether or not she was even fit to be a mother. It wasn’t the first time Rhys had mentioned it, and it didn’t seem like he’d let it go any time soon. She’d just have to do her best to distract him.

  Because there was no way she was ready to take that step now. Maybe not ever.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Dreamer

  The next morning, Rhys looked over the group assembled at the large dining room table in their sprawling home.

  There was his Beta, Trystan Quinn, and his mate, Amanda Ferreiri, Makenna’s baby sister. He thanked the gods his best friend and sister-in-law had finally dealt with their damn issues and sealed their mating. They were both becoming extremely difficult to live with before they’d bonded. Now, they were the perfect Beta pair.

  Bowen Ferreiri, Makenna’s father and their primary mage. He’d taken great joy in having all of his children together again at last, and had taken every opportunity to be the father they needed, the father they’d been deprived of. So far, things seemed to be working out.

  Talon, Makenna’s brother and Captain of their army. He’d always been the jokester of the group, even though he was one of the most vicious warriors Rhys had ever seen. Since the fight with Kylian, though, he’d been different. If Rhys thought hard enough about it, he realized it’d been happening long before that. Rhys had a hunch it had a lot to do with Reagan O’Leary. She usually ran the kitchen and ensured they were all fed, but was a fierce warrior. One who Rhys and Makenna both felt was Talon’s mate. That was something the two of them had to figure out themselves.