Abolisher [Drothiker #2]

37.

Faolin awoke in a forest.

Her head throbbed with a hollow pain. But when she opened her eyes, her breath caught.

The forest—the trees, the grass, the countless flowers—glowed. The sky atop was pooled with stars brighter than she'd ever seen. Such beauty ...

The daggers were already in her hands as she lifted to her feet.

The more captivating the beauty, the deadlier the danger.

But the swift movement earned her a headrush. It took a moment for her sight to adjust again.

"You never relax, do you?"

She whirled, all her senses edging—

But Ferouzeh was only marveling at the flowers standing taller than her. Her silken night-dark hair reflected all the lights around them. The hazel eyes seemed to glow with awe. Her lips quirked in a sweet smile.

Saqa, she'd forgotten how beautiful the healer could look.

She would never forget how deadly she was though.

Faolin didn't loosen her grip on the daggers. "Where are we?" She looked around, remembering she'd been at her own apartment, tired of Vur's and Levsenn's constant jabbering. Then—

A ripple.

And then endless blackness.

Now Ferouzeh chuckled. "How sure are you that this is even real?"

"Feels real enough."

Ferouzeh sauntered towards her. Faolin stiffened. "Don't dreams feel real to you?" the healer asked.

Faolin didn't reply and continued looking around. What was this place—

"Even the dream version of you is sullen today." Ferouzeh scowled. "It isn't usually."

Faolin didn't know whether she should be flattered that Ferouzeh dreamt of her or offended that she thought her sullen. She only stepped towards what looked like an opening. "Let's go."

She felt the healer rolling her eyes at her back. "There are no dangers here, Faolin, I can assure you that."

"And how do you know that for certain?"

"It's my dream, isn't it?"

"It's not a dream."

"Like such a place could exist in real world."

"Apparently it does."

"So what? Are you saying we teleported here?"

"There could be another explanation."

Ferouzeh let out a long-suffering sigh. "Faolin."

Exasperated, she turned. "What?"

"Can you stop being so ..." She searched for the word.

Faolin lifted a brow. "Careful? Willing to live?"

"Evasive."

Faolin crossed her arms. "Evasive?"

Ferouzeh mirrored her movement. "Mhm." She nodded.

"Whatever, Ferouzeh." She turned back to the trees.

She took a step but Ferouzeh gripped her wrist. Faolin acted on her first instinct. The dagger was immediately at Ferouzeh's throat.

The healer smiled. "You do this quite a lot in my dreams, too."

"Really," Faolin breathed, savoring Ferouzeh's quickening breaths across her face. "What else do I do?"

Her gaze dropped to her lips. "Things you would never do in real world."