Taryn was a dreamwalker.
Chapter 16
‘The Gods are punishing us for what you have done.
Now, the world will never be the same.’
— Unsent correspondence from Tinyrah Kazimyr (Post-Division)
Taryn
It was overwhelmingly obvious that Airess knew something Taryn didn’t, by the way she was looking at him, her mouth hung open and speechless. Noticing the alarmed expression Airess wore, Taryn immediately looked around the woods, doused in the morning sun, alert to find the source of her reaction, but found nothing amiss.
Her shock contorted to accusation, her brow furrowing as she pointed a finger at him. “Youcan dreamwalk?”
The recollection of the recurring dream he had awoken from slammed into his mind, recalling the words she had said to him in his dream. But it was just that,a dream.
He gave her a skeptical look. “I can do what?”
Airess rushed to her feet and began pacing. “It’s not possible. Not once have I ever met another dream walker–well, save for that one recent time – but my ownmothertold me I would probably never meet one. And then you show up in my life with some Magickal aura and a plethora of power, and through all of that, you can dreamwalk, too?”
Taryn stood with his arms folded, amused at how easily worked up she was getting. Even in the early hours of the morning, Airess looked effortlessly beautiful. Her ivory hair fell down her back in loose waves, tousled by their travels. The maroon dress she had stolen from the market fit her body like a glove. The fabric corset accentuated her curves, invoking a need deep inside Taryn that he tried his best to stifle.
“Calm down, Haeleth. I can barely understand you, and we need to get moving. We can’t stay in one place for too long.”
She nodded reluctantly as they cleaned up their campsite and mounted their horses. They galloped away, their horses’ hooves thrumming against the ground as they sped forward.
At last, a lake came into view, nestled in the valley of Mount Yannish. Taryn swung a leg over and dismounted his horse, walking over to Airess and offering a hand to help her down, like the gentleman he was. Her hand was warm, slender, and light as a feather, slipping perfectly into his. The warmth of her touch seeped into his palm. She possessed the grace of a queen.
He gazed out to the lake, “We should bathe here. It could be a while until we get the chance again.” Once Airess dismounted, she shrugged off her cloak and turned to him.
“Don’t change the subject.”
“What subject?”
Airess crossed her arms, looking at him with curiosity.
“Are you avoiding it because you don’t want me to know, or do you truly have no idea what you are?”
Taryn’s jaw tensed at the words being repeated to him a second time in the past four days, making him instantly skeptical of her. Could he trust her?
Did she even know whatshetruly was?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He turned away from her, grabbing his waterskin attached to the saddle, and headed to the lakeshore.
“My Gods, you have no idea,” Airess whispered in shock from behind, trailing close behind him.
He whipped around, peering down at her. “What are you talking about?” His tone came out more biting than he intended.
She strode to him slowly, letting him digest her words. “We were both there in that field of flowers, you know, with that wall beyond that cliff?I was there. ”
Taryn furrowed his brows and took a step back. How was that possible? Did she get in his head? Was she a witch? The gentle lapping of water from the river filled the silence between them.
“How did you know that?”
“Because I’m a dreamwalker, Taryn–and so are you.”
