Then, far to the north, the sky shifted.
A pale green shimmer bled across the horizon. It flickered once, twice, then deepened, spreading like ink through water. Blue joined it, and rose, and violet, waves of color folding and unfolding above the mountain like curtains of fire.
Layla’s breath caught. The lights danced exactly as they had in her dreams, silent and rhythmic.
And then—there!
It flared upwards, far above her, curling in on itself like woodsmoke, blue bleeding into green.
She scrambled for her notebook, flicking it open, holding it up against the sky.
It was the same. The exact same series of patterns.
Tears filled her eyes. “It’s real,” she whispered, “it’sreal.”
She knelt there, face lifted to the heavens, the glow painting her skin in shifting color. The ache in her legs, the sting of cold, all of it vanished under the sheer wonder of it. For the first time in her life, she didn’t feel weak or outcast or broken. She felt chosen.
Her fingers brushed the cut on her palm. It stung, but only temporarily. And beneath it, she knew.
These were no ordinary dreams she was having.
For a heartbeat, she felt a presence vast and luminous, neither male nor female, older than the world. She didn’t hear words, exactly, but she understood.You see now.
Layla closed her eyes.
“I see,” she whispered.
And for the first time, she believed it. Raw joy, childlike and exhilarating, bubbled up and burst out of her in a loud peal of laughter.
Here she was, on top of the world, bathed in glorious light.
It felt like a benediction.
She watched, hands clutched to her chest, as slowly the lights began to fade.
The first green ribbons dissolved into gray, then blue, then nothing but black sky strewn with stars. The wind rose again, colder now, and the mountain was suddenly just a mountain, vast and quiet and empty.
Layla knelt there for a long time, staring upward as the last threads of light vanished. Her eyes still shone, but the warmth was ebbing.
She laughed under her breath, shaking her head in pure disbelief.
She didn’t know how long she stayed there, caught between exhaustion and elation. Eventually, her body reminded her of its limits. Her legs were shaking. Her fingers were numb. She gathered her pack with clumsy hands and stood, swaying slightly.
She took one last look at the sky, memorizing every star.
Then, she took her phone out of her bag. The harsh blue light cut through the mysterious, ancient landscape she’d fallen into, and she blinked against the onslaught. Then her eyes widened as she saw the notifications.
Several missed calls, both from her brother and Dominic.
“Crap,” she muttered, tugging a glove off with her teeth, wincing against the instant bite of cold. Her fingers hovered over the screen, debating who to call. Her brother would be beyond furious with her, but not more than Dominic. But then again, Dominic would be catatonic with rage if she called her brother before calling him.
Briefly, she considered bypassing them both and just calling Julian, before she remembered she didn’t have his number.
“Needs must,” she muttered, tapping on her brother’s name. He’d likely have to carry her down the mountain on his back while he was shifted, and she would really rather Dominic wasn’t anywhere near what would no doubt be an entirely humiliating experience.
And that was when she heard it.
A sound that didn’t belong to the mountain.
