In the chaos that was the journey back to Acsilla, I had not even had the time to properly consider the words Harkin had whispered to me as I waded through the embrace of unconsciousness. His quiet confession that he loved me.
When I did pause to let his words wash over me, I was filled with such budding hope. My heart was full to bursting, and I wanted desperately to express my feelings to him in turn. Every time Ithought I might find the chance, another setback with my dream mágik derailed my plans.
My first attempts with the others had proven fruitless. I found myself, time and again, a viewer in my friend's dreams, when I needed to be able to communicate with them.
Fortunately, Théo had stored a veritable library in his pack. He sorted through the tomes and papers which had aided us in our search for the Drakány shrine until he finally settled on a thin book, bound in leather.
“The most detailed description of moon mágik,” he told me, “was kept in the royal archive. In it were accounts of moon mágik wielders throughout history and the abilities they had attained.”
“Did they describe the dreams?” I asked.
“One section described a wielder who had access to the dreams of others. Just here, see.” Théo pointed to the page, fingers running over the worn parchment.
I read this passage over and over again, studying the techniques they had used to enter the dreams of another.
The most important aspect of this mágik was detailed visualization. I could not simply wish my way inside the mind of another person, and I could not rely on physical touch to anchor me to my intended subject—though it certainly helped.
I practiced for hours on end, sacrificing my own sleep as I pictured my companions in great detail. I found it was not enough to use their countenance alone. That method would prove inadequate when it came to contacting Lady Adiran, as I had never met the woman in the waking world.
It was a combination of things that worked in the end. I focused on the physical descriptions, personality, and goals of the subjectwhile also maintaining an overarching intention of two minds becoming one.
I was able to breach Harkin’s dreams first, curled up together in the soft warmth of our tent. Ayla came next, and the others quickly followed. I even practiced on people far away to ensure my skills were satisfactory. I successfully entered the dreams of Guardian Horvat, my former commander, and Lili Barta, one of my fellow Guardians. I knew they would never consider the mágik at play. They would simply imagine they had dreamed of someone they once knew, if they remembered me at all.
But it was Harkin I came back to, after every long night on the road. The Sarkhona Draum had changed me. The Goddesses had chosen me, had pushed me that last little bit, and I wanted to hold on tight to it—that warm, trusting, wanting ache in my chest.
I thought of Harkin and his love—the deep well of it that he could not hide, not from me. There was no more doubt, and no more hesitancy; I knew what distraction would draw our villain to us.
It was too soon, and I knew I would be met with disapproval, but it was what I wanted. I hoped Harkin would want it too.
“Harkin?” I murmured, drawing close in the circle of his arms.
He was warm and sweet and so, so sleepy. “Hmm?”
“Dream with me?”
“Always.”
I placed one last kiss upon his parted lips, and then I dreamed.
Chapter fifty-eight
Harkin
Sweet honey and smoked steel followed me into sleep. Soft hair fanned loose across my cheek, and supple skin taunted my caressing hands. I opened my eyes to the gentle scratch of Seren’s fingers over my scalp. I sighed happily into her touch, knowing this tremulous thing between us could not last but wishing, for all I was worth, that it would.
Seren lay across me, propped up on her elbow. The silky strands of her unbound hair danced across my cheekbone as she looked down at me with an expression so full of feeling, my breath caught.
She ran her pointer finger across my face, down my nose, over my lips. She kissed the lines of my scars.
I shivered, eyelids falling and rising as I blinked the world into focus.
“It comes so easy to you now,” I remarked, running my hand along Seren’s shoulder and down her back. I pressed her more firmly to me.
“Only with you,” Seren told me with a soft smile.
The edges of the tent blurred around me, colors swam before my eyes. The only image in clear focus was Seren.
“You’re doing so well with all of us,” I praised her. “But if you come to me every night, it will be a gift.”
