Barely perceptible hisses and whispers scraped against my eardrums, following the frigid air that stabbed my face, freezing what little moisture lingered in my nose. It wormed through my pants and long sleeves, wrapped around my limbs, and… pulled.
I walked a few steps, letting the air drag me along, feeling some kind of solid ground beneath my feet. I held out my arms, waiting to hit something, hoping to see or hear anything besides the eerie whispers, but I never did.
The cold clawed deeper, tugging harder as if desperate.
Was it some kind of cry for help?
I swallowed, attempting to stay calm in the suffocating darkness. The cold both grounded me and dragged me toward thoughts of packed earth. Dirt pressing in from all sides. Seven feet under. If the book hadn’t mentioned not being able to Somnivado to the dead, I would’ve sworn I’d dream-walked into a corpse.
With each passing second, the darkness pressed tighter around me, oppressive and vile, while the cold air twisted around my body like a fearful child begging for help. My skin began to numb. Panic teased my mind. Unease twisted my stomach.
Unable to take it anymore, I forced myself out.
I woke up,feeling the unease sift off me as something hot and comforting pressed against me. Moving, I noticed I was no longer on the couch I had dragged to the end of Aspen’s bed. For obvious reasons, I assumed Aspen rested at my back, but when I turned, I found Rune.
I smiled. She was curled into a cute little ball, her head near mine, body snuggled as close as she could while still giving me comfort. Shadows slowly moved back and forth in a languid sway that suggested she was out cold.
But how did she get in here? How did I get in Aspen’s bed? Did I sleepwalk?
She sighed in her sleep, letting out a plume of breath.
“Oh, Rune,” I murmured, waving away the smell of stale blood. As gross as it was, I was thankful I could smell at all. Hear and see again.
Her ears twitched at my voice, and she sleepily licked my face with her disgusting saliva before falling back to sleep.
I wiped my face, holding back a laugh at how cute and stinky she was, then peeked over her.
The moment I did, I wished I were back on Earth, if only to steal a camera.
Aspen curled around Rune. His head was wedged near her thick neck, and his hand draped over her hip. Coffee-colored locks splayed over his pillow and tickled his eyelashes. He looked so boyish and, for once, peaceful. I found it a little strange that Rune allowed Aspen so close. But she wasn’t just Ronen’s Soulhound. She was mine too. Maybe that gave Aspen enough leeway to snuggle her. Or neither one knew about the snuggles.
Ronen didn’t. I couldn’t imagine a world where he’d allow his Soulhound to touchthe pet.
I sighed, flopping back onto my pillow, thinking about Melanie.
What did it mean? Was she dead and the book was wrong? Did someone shut her inside an isolation cage? I didn’t understand. Until I did, there was no way I was going to tell Oliver about what I saw. How could I? What would I even say?
Hey, Oli, I dream-walked to your sister, like I told you I would, and either she’s dead or someone sucked out all her life, and she’s just a cold shell now.
No. He needed solid answers.
I wanted to dream-walk again, but my mind wouldn’t turn off. I waited until an hour before dusk and woke Rune. She lifted her head slightly at my voice, but not enough to jostle Aspen. My heart swelled. I knew she knew he was there, resting against her. I assumed she was allowing his snuggles for my sake, but I didn’t care.
“Thank you,” I whispered, relief stinging my eyes. That made asking what I had to next a lot easier. “Will you stay with him while I go meet Cato?”
She licked my face in answer, imprinting her stinky breath on my cheek. I took that as a yes.
“If he wakes, keep him away from anything… Just keep him alive. Sit on him if you have to.”
She opened her mouth to lick me again, but I stopped her.
“Rune, I love you, but you need the Soulhound version of mouthwash.”
I almost regretted saying that as she plopped her head down, ears bent back as if I’d scolded her.
“Hey, none of that, beastie.” I scratched her muzzle. “I’ll be back before training. Just keep him here and alive. Whatever you need to do.”
Then I slipped out of bed, quickly went to my rooms to change, and luscelered to the library. Leaving Rune alone with Aspen made me a little uneasy. Not because I didn’t trust either of them, but because I didn’t trust Ronen not to snoop and find something he didn’t like. So I only planned to spare the doors a glance and ended up slamming into their mosaic front to stop myself.
