"I had a strange dream."
Her eyes immediately sharpened. "Like the Podana one?"
"No, not like that." I started unbuttoning my top. "I would have sounded the alarm if it were one of those. This one was different."
"Thank Elu, for that." She let out a breath.
I removed the top part of my uniform, leaving on the soft shirt I was wearing underneath, and stood up to drape the dress top over the back of my chair. "I dreamed that I was at the Circle of Fate, standing where Saphir stood during our ceremony, and there were thousands of pilgrims waiting for me to do something." I sat back down and removed my boots, one at a time.
"And? What did you do?"
I couldn't tell Shovia about being a shaman without Saphir okaying it, but everyone already knew that I had strange dreams,so I could tell her about this one and let her reach her own conclusions.
"I issued a telepathic call to the gifted, telling them to come forward as Nyxath did for us, but the call didn't stop at the circle. It kept going, spreading outward like ripples in water, and I could feel responses from other worlds."
Her eyes widened. "Say what?"
"I know it sounds crazy because we don't have space travel, so no Elucians could have ever left Aurorys on a spaceship, but that's how it felt." They could have left through the portals, but even though I'd told Alar everything, I wasn't ready to betray Saphir's trust completely and tell Shovia as well. "It was just a silly dream, but it affected me. That, in addition to the attempt on my life and the stress of waiting for another attempt, took its toll."
I really needed to have another meeting with Saphir and ask that all five of our group be told so I could finally speak freely with them. Six, if Ravel was indeed the sixth member of the prophesied seven.
"Other worlds?" Shovia pursed her lips. "That's not the craziest thing I've ever heard. Dragons killing riders, assassination attempts, and you dreaming through animal eyes, why not other worlds?"
"You think it was real?"
She chuckled. "At this point, if you told me you'd dreamed that you could shift into dragon form, I'd just wait for it to happen."
A laugh bubbled out of me. "Maybe one day I will. If I dreamed of doing what only Nyxath can, why not dream about being her?"
Shovia didn't look amused. "Your abilities keep growing, Kailin, and they are unlike anything that has been seen before. I wouldn't put anything past you."
I groaned. "Why me? I'm the daughter of sheepherders, the granddaughter of an apothecary. There is nothing in my bloodline to make me special. Where are these things coming from?"
"No clue." Shovia sat beside me on the bed and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. "I know that you are scared, but there is a reason Elu chose you to bestow all these gifts on. You have a mission to fulfill."
Should I tell her that Elu couldn't bestow anything because he wasn't a deity?
She was right about the mission, though. I had shamans and eggs to find, and perhaps a conspiracy to solve, but at least I wasn't supposed to do it alone. I was part of the prophesied seven, and that made it a little less terrifying.
"Are you going to drink the tea tonight?" Shovia asked. "Maybe the dream will come back and be clearer this time."
"Yes. I'm not looking forward to it, but I will." I sighed. "For Elucia's safety, and to explore the limits of my ability, even if I'm not sure I want to find out."
Entering the mind of a dragon seemed terrifying, even if I didn't find any conspiracies against Nyxath or Elucia.
"Knowledge is always better than ignorance," Shovia said. "Even scary knowledge. At least when you know what you're dealing with, you can plan accordingly."
She was right, of course. I'd drink the tea, wear the medallion, and see what visions came. The thought filled me with equal parts of dread and anticipation.
"We should head to the showers as well," I said. "I need to get out of this stiff uniform."
"I'll help you unpack," Shovia offered. "It will go faster."
I was just tucking the last items into my drawer when a presence brushed against my mind.
Not Onyx's familiar warmth or the general awareness I had of other dragons when they passed nearby, but familiar nonetheless.
Nyxath.
