The Skylar Rains 1: Figment of Dreams Book One
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E. Hereygers
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19,8K
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53
Lux grows up in a world forever changed when alien beings arrive and settle among humans. Among them is Jax, her best friend and a Rainer who has always felt like home—until he suddenly disappears from her life without warning. Left with unanswered questions and a heart full of confusion, Lux tries to move on, but nothing about their bond ever truly fades. When hidden truths begin to surface, she is pulled into a conflict far bigger than she ever imagined, where loyalty, identity, and desire blur into something dangerous. As the line between human and alien worlds begins to crack, Lux must decide what she is willing to risk for answers, and whether some connections are strong enough to survive the truth.
Chapter 1
LUX
The water was just too blue.
That’s what hit me first, standing barefoot at the edge of the pool. Not the sharp smack of something hitting tile. Not even the cold, crawling dread inching up my spine.
Just the color. It was so bright it almost hurt to look at—like the pool was trying too hard to look safe.
Someone was in the water. A little kid. I knew he’d be there, even though I couldn’t say how. I always did.
My chest felt tight as I stepped closer, the rough concrete biting into my feet. The surface of the water rippled once, then again, and I caught a glimpse of small hands breaking through—pale fingers reaching.
That’s when the sound finally hit me. He was drowning.
I tried to move faster. But the air got thick, heavy like syrup, and every step felt like I was wading through glue.
My heart slammed against my ribs as the water swallowed him again. I saw a flash of blond hair. Eyes too wide. Mouth opening and closing. A red ball bobbing nearby.
I knew what was coming.
Something shifted behind me. Not a sound, exactly. More like the absence of one. A pressure at my back that made my skin prickle and my breath catch. I didn’t turn around.
I could feel him there anyway. Waiting.
I dove into the pool. The cold hit me so hard it knocked the air from my lungs. I sank, arms slicing through the water toward the flailing shape below.
My fingers brushed against fabric. Slipped. Tried again.
The kid’s eyes locked on mine, terror blooming there—sharp and knowing, like he understood before I did that this was the part where everything went wrong.
My vision blurred. The water turned dark with blood as pain shot through my back.
I screamed and woke up. I shot upright in bed, gasping, my sheets twisted around my legs, my heart pounding so hard it hurt. My room was dark and familiar.
My posters were still crooked on the wall. My alarm clock blinked 6:02 a.m. like nothing had happened.
My throat burned. I pressed a shaky hand to my chest and swallowed, trying to convince myself I was awake. That I was safe. That there was no pool, no water filling my lungs, no dark presence standing just out of sight.
It took a while for the shaking to stop. The nightmares had been back full force these last few weeks. I barely slept anymore. When I did, it was shallow and restless, like my mind was scared of what would happen if I let go completely.
By the time I dragged myself out of the house, my head throbbed and my limbs felt weak, like I could just collapse.
It didn’t help that today was the first Monday after summer break. I dreaded the first class of the week with a passion so intense it took everything I had just to walk down the hallway toward that dark little classroom.
My sneakers scuffed against the floor. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead. Every step echoed too loud in my ears.
The dreams had always been like this—so unforgiving. Places that felt more real than real life ever did. I tried to explain them once, years ago. I was sitting across from a therapist who stopped taking notes halfway through. He actually flinched when I described certain parts.
I never went back.
Some nights were worse than others. Some places came back more often. And some presences never left. There was always someone there with me. Another boy, growing up alongside me in those dreams.
His face changed a little over the years, but his eyes stayed the same. Dark hair. Deep chocolate brown. Familiar in a way that made my chest ache. He’d been there when I was little, and he was still there now, eighteen just like me.
And then there was the other one.
The one who never showed his face. The memory of him clung to me as I reached the classroom door. My hand hovered over the handle a second longer than it needed to.
I pushed it open and stepped inside.
Rainer Study.
My favorite class.
Not.
When the Rainers fell from the sky nineteen years ago, the world lost its mind. Every alien conspiracy theory anyone had ever whispered in the dark turned out to be true.
Except they didn’t look like monsters. They looked like us. Almost.
The word alien disappeared fast. Now they were called Rainers, for reasons nobody could really explain.
Their leaders promised peace, clean energy, and a future where Earth might actually survive. In return, they wanted a safe place for their kids to grow up.
So Earth said yes.
A treaty was signed, and suddenly there were a million Rainers living all over the world. Their ships left, heading back to Caros—the green planet they called home—while the Rainers stayed behind and tried to build lives with us.
Most people just accepted it. Some didn’t. My dad was definitely in that second group.
He was convinced the Rainers were just waiting. That they were some kind of Trojan Horse, hiding in plain sight, ready to attack when we least expected it.
The fact that his little anti-Rainer group actually called themselves The Trojans? Yeah, the irony was not lost on me. I was always more careful around my dad than I ever was around the Rainers.
Why should I be scared of them?
The only Rainer family in our tiny midwestern town of Bridgeview lived right next door. I picked their son as my best friend before I even knew what a Rainer was.
Kids don’t come with all those built-in opinions. We just chose who we liked. And I chose Jax Skylar. Oh, did I ever choose.
Regret crawled up my spine as I kept walking. Most of my classes didn’t have the Skylars. Except for Mondays. Mondays were the exception.
I walked into class with my chin up. I’d decided I was done hiding.
I’d bought new clothes, spent way too many hours at the gym, and added some highlights to my wild auburn hair, which now fell in long curls down my back. Black jeans that hugged my legs. Ankle boots. A fitted gray top with slits at the shoulders.
I actually felt good. I actually felt beautiful.
I could survive another year with him.
I spotted Jax right away, slouched in his usual seat at the back. His blond hair was as wild as ever, and his jeans and plain black shirt fit him just right.
New tattoos curled along his forearms. He looked like a young Kurt Cobain, if Kurt Cobain had been a Rainer.
He looked up the second I walked in.
Our eyes met. Something flickered there—recognition, surprise, maybe something sharper. Then he looked away, like I was just another face in the crowd.
Whateverdude.
I slid into my usual seat, one desk in front of him, just as Miss Neomi swept into the room, all bubbly and loud. She was a total Galaxsleaze and, unfortunately, our Rainer Study teacher.
Everyone knew she’d been trying to hook up with Maddox Skylar—Jax’s dad—for years. Maddox never even glanced her way.
“I have some exciting news!” she announced.
Everyone groaned.
“We have a new addition this year. Please welcome our official sixth Rainer of Bridgeview!”
The door opened. He walked in like he owned the place.
Tall—at least six foot five—wearing dark designer jeans, dress shoes, and a fitted navy shirt. His dark hair was cropped on the sides and fell to the left in perfect, messy waves.
His eyes were this deep ocean-blue, and he scanned the room like he was already bored.
Then his eyes landed on me. And stayed there. It felt like being recognized by a stranger in a dream.
“This is Kai Welkin,” Miss Neomi said, way too brightly. “And he’ll be sitting next to Lux. She volunteered to be his guide today.”
Oh crap.
I’d totally forgotten about that stupid volunteer form.
Kai walked over, all easy confidence, dimples flashing as he dropped his books and took the seat beside me. “Well,” he said softly, leaning in. “Hello there.”
I gave a little wave. “Hi.”
“Not used to Rainers, huh?” he asked.
“Very used to Rainers,” I replied, a little too loud.
Behind me, I heard someone suck in a sharp breath.
Kai smirked. “Sounds interesting.”
“No,” I snapped. “Not like that.”
He laughed. “Baby, you can’t look like that and expect me to focus. Besides, you’re my guide. Guides talk.”
“My name is Lux,” I said, trying to sound cool. “And we can talk later. Not during class.”
“Whatever you say, baby.”
“Her name is Lux,” Jax’s voice cut through the room, sharp and cold. The whole class went silent.
Kai turned slowly. “Ah. Rainer boyfriend?”
“He is nothing to me,” I said way too fast.
The air behind me felt suddenly cold.
Kai studied me for a long second, his eyes flicking to my mouth, his nostrils flaring just a little before he finally faced forward again. He didn’t say another word.
When the bell rang, everyone rushed out. My heart was pounding as I hurried to my locker.
I found Jax and Lenn standing over Kai. They looked tense—like, ready-to-fight tense.
They disappeared the second they saw me.
“What was that?” I demanded.
Kai just smiled that same knowing smile. “Baby, you really don’t know, do you?”
“Tell me. And don’t call me baby.”
He shrugged, light as air. “I can’t. That’s not up to me.”
He turned and walked away. No explanation. No glance back. Just the sound of his footsteps fading, leaving me standing there with my heart pounding in my chest.
