“Jindal.” My name whispered in my ear. Warm breath. Not cold. “Jindal, wake up.” A familiar voice. Not the cloying croon of the Gatekeeper.
Rahz.
A warm flutter stirs in my belly. He firms his grip and gives me a gentle shake.
I open my eyes to find him very close, green eyes blazing with concern.
“Jinny, wake up.”
“Rahz?”
A relieved sigh dampens my cheek. “Thank the Gatherdawn. You’re awake.”
I blink, and the more I blink, the more the horrid dream fades away. My breath comes in shuddering gasps. My heart thuds against my ribs. But I’m awake, the Gatekeeper is gone, and Rahz is here. “It wasn’t real.”
“You were having a nightmare.” Rahz cups my face in his sweaty palms. “You’re safe with me.”
His words splash over me like fresh water from the hot springs, washing away the remnants of fear. Safe. With Rahz. Yes.
But just when I calm down, a new worry rises to the fore. We aren’t alone. I glance around the room in dismay. Did I wake the others? Do they know?
A low snore comes from the lump that is Vander all curled up in his bedding. Asleep. Phew. The room is still and quiet. My shame is my own.
Well, Rahz knows too. But that’s all right. Rahz won’t make fun of me for it. He is too good to make someone else feel bad.
“You feeling better?” he whispers.
Still shaky, but I nod. “It seemed so real.”
“Nightmares always do.”
“You have them too?” It’s hard to imagine big, strong Rahz succumbing to night terrors like me.
“Sometimes.” He drops his hands to his lap. I miss their warmth. Their comfort. “Want to talk about it?”
Another snore from Vander. I scrunch my nose. “Not here.”
“The garden?”
“Yes.” We shuffle out of our flannel nests and sneak upstairs together, careful on the fourth step, which we both know creaks as loud as a rooster’s crow. Our bare feet are silent on the floorboards as we creep through the cottage to the back door.
Outside, the round moon shines silvery purple on the flagstones. We sit under the vine-covered pergola on a little stone bench, side by side. Close enough for our thighs to touch. His presence is soothing.
“What happened?”
I tell him. It’s not the first time I’ve had this dream, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. But this time felt so real. “I could smell his breath, Rahz. Like spearmint and pine, colder than ice, rippling across my cheek with every word. As if he was really here, waiting to take me with him to his ice castle.”
“That must have been scary.” He takes my hand. His palm is hot. Nothing like the frigid touch of the Gatekeeper. “I’m so sorry. This is my fault.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“I shouldn’t have told that story. It triggered your dream.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. Anyway, it’s not your fault. I know the legends. What the Gatekeeper does. Who he steals. I’ve always been afraid one day he’ll come for me.”
“He won’t. The stories aren’t real.”
“They might be.”
