Selena
The darkness faded into the familiar tropical paradise that I had grown to love—both in my dreamscape and in person.
Destima.
I leaned against my porch’s stone railing overlooking the island. The peaceful sound of lilac waves filled the air. A gentle breeze blew against my nightgown as I watched the stars above.
Only one thing was missing from the sky to make this real: Lunkai, the purple planet Destima orbited.
Frantically, I searched for signs of my nestmates’ doors, hoping that this wasn’t some sort of trick. Once again, I found nothing.
This was neither a dreamscape nor real life, so what was it?
“A psychic construct between symbiont and host.”
I stilled as ice coursed through my veins.
That voice. It was me—yet not exactly.
“You’re right. I am you.”
Spinning around, I followed the voice to find Zirene sitting in the pavilion, just how I had always remembered him, with his hands behind his head and legs crossed on the ottoman. But instead of his black-and-pewter striped fur, he was golden, his form ghostly like he had met me before in the dreamscape.
This wasn’t the male I had known all these years. He couldn’t be.
“Who are you?”
“I am whoever you want me to be.”The golden impostor opened his eyes and found mine. He didn’t have the amethyst eyes of my Shadow; instead, they appeared celestial, searching mine.“This is the body of the male who occupies most of your memories. If you want, I can change to someone else.”
“What are you talking about?”
Suddenly, there was a blinding flash. Gasping, I shielded my eyes. A moment later, a golden Xylo appeared right before me.
“I can be whatever form you are most comfortable with or want me to be. Whatever will make the transition easier for you.”
“Transition?” I spun around and searched the sky, trying to piece together what he was saying.There’s no way…“Is this what it is? Am I dead?”
“Almost.”The golden Xylo stepped beside me and leaned on the porch railing.“You almost died. If Kaede hadn’t introduced me to you, you would have. Now, we are inseparable.”
“Inseparable?” I shook my head, refusing to believe his words. “You aren’t making any sense. And I would appreciate it if you stopped using my mates’ forms to speak to me. Youaren’tthem,” I hissed, stepping away from the impostor. “Explain! Now!”
“I’m sorry that I am making this harder on you.”The golden Xylo sighed in my voice, making the conversation even eerier.“I am still trying to learn everything about you.”Another flash blinded me. In Xylo’s place, a golden Kaede appeared, with the same multicolor, speckled abyss eyes that froze me to the spot.“Is this better? I know you have a connection with him even though he isn’t your mate, so I hope it’s not as offensive.”
“Don’t you have a form of your own?” I demanded, stepping back from the male who reminded me of the crimson Kaede look-alike I had just recently met. “Why do you need to pretend to be someone else? Why do I keep seeinghisface?”
“Zyxel is a different matter, but first, we need to talk about us.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” I growled, retreating until my back hit the railing. “There is nous.”
“That’s where you are wrong, Selena.”The golden, ethereal Kaede reached for my hand, frowning when I yanked it away.“I didn’t calculate our first conversation going so badly, but that’s all right. I will adapt to the situation at hand.”
He walked up beside me and gripped the railing. Acting as if I wasn’t here, he stared at the island below, just like I loved to do whenever I came to this balcony. The saline breeze blew his long, golden hair as if he were alive—as if this were real—while the familiar, peaceful sounds of my villa surrounded us.
Too much had happened in such a short time. It was becoming harder to determine what was real and what was a drugged hallucination. This had to be a dream because Lunkai was missing in the sky, but where were my connections? Was I in a dreamdome?
“Let me start from the beginning, since I don’t know any other way to explain,”the golden Kaede sighed, still using my voice.“Do you remember your Zirene giving you a necklace on that fateful day?”
“Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”
