“I’m not entirely sure. They come to me in dreams. Often, they are flashes of images I can’t fully decipher. But other times, they’re so vivid I don’t know if I’m awake or not.”
What I didn’t say was that I usually ignored my dreams altogether. I didn’t want this power. If I could see into the future, that meant I could have possibly prevented some of the darkest times of my life—and I couldn’t live with that guilt.
But now was not the time for denial. I did have a gift, and I needed to use it.
“How long have you been having them?”
“About nine years, just shortly after puberty started.”
“Can you summon your visions?”
“I’ve never tried before,” I admitted honestly.
He watched me warily.
“Will you try now?”
I nodded.
This wasn’t about protecting Veilers. This was about protecting myself and the other culled. If I could save us, I had a duty to do so.
I closed my eyes and attempted to return to my dream. If I could get back to that altered memory and look deeper into the Sky, maybe there was more to see.
The seconds stretched slowly by, and nothing happened.
A dark, empty nothingness was all I could see. A yawn forced its way up my throat just as a shiver coursed down my scalp.
When I opened my eyes to tell Rowan I had failed, I found myself back in that dreamworld field alone.
The sun was fully covered by dark gray clouds that swirled in the Sky. There was a feeling luring me to look deeper into the darkness. And as I dared to look further, I felt all of my focus hone in on the heavens.
I followed the spiral in the atmosphere to its center, where the smallest light flickered. A part of me screamed to look away—to hide—but I knew that if I did, then the information I sought would be lost.
I had to know.
The light grew brighter, and inside it I saw faces.
Even though I couldn’t make them out entirely, I knew enough to recognize that they weren’t ones I’d seen before. The smell of sandalwood hit me suddenly, and that’s when I saw him.
I saw Rowan.
He struck down another with perfect ease. I felt his anger and determination. It was a mix of emotions I knew well.
The voice inside me whispered:Do not linger long. Stay, and you change what comes.
I watched the way Rowan fought—how he used his entire body to sway in and out of combat. Despite how violent the scene was, I couldn’t help but admire the wonder of it all. Rowan commanded the battlefield.
Let go. Now.
I didn’t want to let go, but my chest ached, and the smell of blood filled my nostrils. I loosened my grip on the vision, and darkness shrouded the light.
Open your eyes.
I felt my eyes roll back into place. When I opened them, Rowan was standing beside me, intensely studying my face.
“What did you see?” His voice was still, careful.
“Enemies.”
