“But you also don’t completely trust her.” Gabriel leaned against the table, looking equally concerned.
“No.” Raven sighed. “It’s just… Marius is vulnerable. He’s never quite recovered from the trauma he endured in that in-between place Eleanor kept him. Someone like Harlow could prey on his insecurities.”
“Does Marius know about Darium’s punishment? Does he know that Harlow might be doing something… desperate to reclimb the social ladder?”
“I doubt it. He’s barely left palace grounds the past year. And it’s not something we ever talk about. He saw her at the coronation. I’m sure he assumes she’s still part of high society.”
“A socialite he thought would make a fine pit coach?” Gabriel squinted his eyes as if he just couldn’t make sense of it.
Charlie picked the gem up off the floor and waved it around above her head as if she were making it fly. “It’s because of his bad dreams,” the little girl said absently.
Raven paused and squatted down in front of her daughter. “Is Marius having bad dreams, baby?”
“Really bad ones.” Her mouth bent into a frown. “They scare me, Mommy. There are monsters and fire. Uncle stabbed a suit of armor because he thought it was a bad guy.”
Raven felt her heart skip and took Charlie gently by the shoulders. “Is that what Uncle Marius told you?”
“No, that’s what I saw in his dream.” Her bottom lip quivered. “It made me very sad. It was dark and the monsters were scary.”
“You… you saw Uncle Marius’s dreams?” Raven’s throat tightened and her voice heightened in pitch.
Charlie lowered her chin and looked at Raven through her lashes. “Don’t be mad, Mommy.”
“Oh, I’m not angry, sweetheart. But just like you showed me about the rock, it’s important Daddy and I know about this. How many times has this happened?”
“This many.” Charlie held up four fingers. “And one time with Aunt Avery. But her dreams aren’t scary. They’re beautiful.”
Raven studied her daughter. “Aunt Avery isn’t fighting monsters in her dreams?”
“No. She’s flying, and the light is so bright.”
Raven glanced at Gabriel, but he just gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. He didn’t understand this magic either. Raven took a breath, smiled sweetly at her daughter, and forced the muscles in her face and shoulders to relax.
“Well, now that I know Uncle Marius is having nightmares, I will just have to find a way to help him sleep better. I’m sure we can scare those silly nightmares away.”
“Oh, he already has. He doesn’t have the bad dreams on days he fights.”
“Fighting stops his nightmares?”
Charlie nodded.
“Has this happened with anyone else? Do you see Mommy’s or Daddy’s dreams? Or Uncle Colin’s?”
Charlie shook her head.
“Thank you for telling me about this, Charlie.” She kissed her daughter on the cheek and stood.
Charlie went back to playing with the gem in her hand.
“What do you think it means?” Gabriel asked.
“I thought she might be developing psychic abilities, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that she’s only seeing Avery’s and Marius’s dreams. I used her blood to bring them back from the dead.”
“You brought me back from the dead with your blood. You don’t see my dreams.”
“We already had a bond. I had your tooth. We were already connected metaphysically, and I’d only recently absorbed your power. I might as well have been bringing you back with your own blood.”
He rubbed his chin. “But Charlie wasn’t connected to the others.”
