A Court of Stars and Memories

32. Situations

    He was dancing in the dream, with that unknown female in his arms. Once more, he could see nothing defining about her. Only the top of her pale head which lay upon his chest. He wanted nothing more than to lift her chin and catch a glimpse of her face, but his hands were held fast, one resting against her waist and the other held in her own.

    Her sweet familiar scent surrounded him as they whirled to an invisible tune. The music came from everywhere and nowhere. From within and without. It seemed to swell with every rapid beat of his heart. He leaned closer, peering towards the outline of the face hidden behind her hair.

    "Give me something," he whispered. "Anything." Light glimmered around her neck and took the shape of a silver locket, the very same one he'd painted. He managed to lift his hand from her waist and gently traced the smooth oval. "I need more than this."

    His hand moved from the necklace and touched the cool skin of her neck. She didn't stop him as he brushed his fingers up to her jaw. He felt its delicate round curve and followed it to her chin. Before he could lift her head, she turned away. A haze of light surrounded her and flooded his vision.

    Before the dream ended, the ghost of a voice whispered in his ear, "Not yet."

◦༻❅༺◦

    Lysander woke with a groan and sat up, running a hand across his face. Already, he could feel the dream fading from memory. He couldn't even remember what that voice sounded like, or what scent he'd smelled. Just the bloody damned locket which could tell him nothing for certain. He let out a frustrated groan and fell back on the bed, letting his wings fall slack over either side of it.

    A knock sounded at the door before it opened. Calden braced an elbow on the doorframe and studied him with a smirk. "Rise and shine. I'm dragging you along on my rounds today."

    "Ugh. Why isn't Mikael going with you?" Lysander grumbled, draping an arm across his face.

    "Because he, Estelle, and Thesan had a meeting to attend with several ambassadors. Zyon already agreed to take care of my morning lessons, and since you'll be leaving tomorrow, I thought it'd be nice to spend a little more time with you today."

    Lysander moved his arm long enough to return Calden's smirk. "Why didn't you invite Zyon? I'm sure he'd love to spend some quality time with you."

    Calden pushed off the door and rolled his eyes. "You're just like Mikael, you know that?"

    "Hey, at least we're encouraging." Calden raised his middle finger as he closed the door.

    Lysander chuckled to himself and swung out of bed. It didn't take long for him to pull on his leathers and tuck his pendant beneath them, then position his siphons. He sheathed Runar between his wings and slipped Toothpick into its usual place on his thigh.

    He raked his fingers through his hair as he stepped out of the room and joined Calden. The Peregryn led the way outside and they set out across the training grounds. After a few minutes of walking, Lysander finally broke the silence.

    "I really am curious about you and Zyon though, if you're willing to talk about it." It was something that had been on his mind since he first arrived in the Dawn Court, but there hadn't been time to ask.

    He knew Calden wouldn't want to discuss while they were training novices or sparring together, and it certainly wasn't something to bring up around Zyon himself. Mikael had already told him all he could, or all he was willing to, and Estelle and Sienna didn't know much either.