My father's brow furrowed. "How? Kailin is just a first-year cadet. What could she possibly have done to save lives in Podana?"
Ravel glanced at me. "Do you want to tell them or do you prefer me to do it?"
I forced a smile. "Since I'm a bit fuzzy about the specifics of what I actually did, perhaps it would be better if you told the story."
It was true that Ravel was better suited to recount the events of that night because he had fought in Podana. However, the real reason I wanted him to narrate it was to avoid sounding boastful.
"Kailin possesses a unique ability," Ravel said. "She had a prophetic dream warning of a massive Shedun attack on our capital. Her warning allowed the Dragon Force to mobilize in time to prevent a massacre. Without her, Podana would have suffered catastrophic losses."
The silence that followed was deafening. My family stared at me as if I'd grown a second head, and that was after hearing a very modified and diminished version of what I had done.
Ravel hadn't told them that my so-called prophetic dream had been achieved by me somehow merging my consciousness with that of animals and birds who had sensed the attack. He also hadn't told them that I had broadcast my dream to the dragons, alerting them to what was about to happen.
Gran nodded sagely, her weathered hands resting on her napkin. "You could always sense things before they happened, Kailin, like the time before the attack on your village."
I jerked in surprise. "You remember that?"
"Of course, and it wasn't the only time. One time when you were little, you started crying for no apparent reason, and when I asked you what was wrong, you said that Daddy was hurt. You couldn't have known that he'd smashed his finger with the hammer while fixing the fence, and yet you did. He came home almost an hour later with a crude bandage he'd made from a piece of his sleeve." She cast a fond look at my father. "Do you remember that?"
He nodded. "I foolishly kept working, thinking that nothing was seriously wrong and that I could handle the pain. You saved my finger by setting the bones properly."
"Stubborn boy," she chided. "You never knew when to quit."
"Like mother, like son," he countered and turned to me. "So, you have dreams about the future? But if the future can be changed, then what you are dreaming is just one possibility from many futures."
Dylon chuckled. "Always the philosopher, Dad."
"He's right," I said. "But it doesn't happen often that I dream of a possible future."
"Elu is using you as a vessel to warn his children," Gran said.
I stifled a cringe and didn't correct her.
Ravel regarded me with his dark eyes. "It seems that you are attuned to Shedun attacks. Back in your village, you were physically close to the events as they were about to unfold, butthree days ago, you were very far from Podana and still felt it. Your ability is growing."
My father had his suspicious expression on, and I knew that he realized there was more to the story than he was being told. "I'm surprised that the higher-ups acted based on a dream of a first-year cadet. Did you have other dreams that have been proven prophetic?"
I shook my head. "Shaman Saphir trusts me," I said, implying that was why the Dragon Force command had acted on my dream.
It wasn't straight-out lying, but it was close enough to make me want to lift three fingers to my lips. That would have given me away, though, so instead, I reached for Alar's hand under the table and squeezed it.
His return squeeze was a shot of reassurance.
"The mobilization was unprecedented," Ravel said. "General Lesten acted on Kailin's warning without hesitation."
I reached into my pocket and withdrew the medal, setting it on the table with a soft click. The sapphire at its center caught the light from the window, seeming to glow with inner fire.
"Dear Elu," my father breathed. "Is that the Hero of Elucia medal?"
"It is," Dylon confirmed with a grin. "Kailin received it this morning from General Bardaky himself, but she's too modest to wear it and has been hiding it in her pocket."
Mom made a sound somewhere between a sob and a laugh, pressing her fingers to her lips. Dad stared at the medal as if it might walk away if not watched.
"The real heroes are the ones who fought off the Shedun," I said. "Not me. I didn't face any dangers while asleep in my bed."
That wasn't entirely true. My body had been hollowed out, and I faced the risk of losing myself to the animal forms myconsciousness inhabited during those dreams. But they didn't need to know that. It would only make them worry.
Gran lifted her hand. "If the generals decided that you deserved a medal, you don't argue with them. It's disrespectful."
