Dawn Carver (3)

20

Freya

Edges of my senses blur into reality.

Wooden ceiling, murmured voices, smoke. Dazed, I can't pinpoint my whereabouts as my eyes pull closed, drifting into an empty space. The voices zone in and out of my ear space, the conversation muffled by a squealing in my eyes.

I pick up bits and pieces.

Cloud. Unconscious. Mark.

My eyes feel glued shut, though I try to force them open. After several more moments, my body feels more steady. Something soft cushions where I rest, a scratchy texture covering half of my body waist down. I try to speak, but nothing comes out.

"Hana." The voice blurs at the edge of my consciousness. Firm, familiar. Alaric. "You have to listen."

"We don't know what it means," the voice, Hana responds.

"Which makes it dangerous."

"Which makes it unexpected," she corrects. "Not necessarily dangerous."

A tense silence passes. I hold my breath, fully conscious now, but afraid to open my eyes. "You weren't there. You didn't see her. She's unconscious--"

"She brought the cloud," Hana interrupts. "She stopped--"

"Freya?" A hand touches my shoulder making me flinch. The jolt of energy that follows shoots up the length of my left arm. "I know you're awake."

I force my eyes open slowly, squinting at the brightness of the room. Lying flat on my back, Alaric hovers over my side, his eyebrows pulled together as he searches my face. Hana appears over his shoulder, her expression stoic.

When I shift, Alaric helps me into a seated position. A wave of nausea washes over me as the memories rush back. My eyes bolt to my arm, half expecting the marks to be part of the clouds' hallucinations. But they maim my arm just as dark and seared as they had when I noticed them in the cave.

"What happened to my arm?" I ask, voice raspy. Taking in the room, it's only the three of us, the fireplace stoked with wood. "Where's Lei?"

"She's fine." Hana nudges Alaric to the side. "What did you do out there, Freya? In the cloud? How did you stop it?"

I blink at her. "I... I didn't do anything."

Her jaw tenses. "You need to tell me the truth."

"I am. I thought if I could find that cave I'd be able to stop it, but I don't remember making it there."

"She's telling the truth, Hana," Alaric says before she can press me further.

Hana's expression is tinged with irritation. "What do you remember, then?"

I blink at the space between the two of them, the memories rushing through me. My heart picks up as I think of Lei again, of Killian and Casimir. They were right there, so real. I squeeze my eyes shut.

"Maybe she could use some water," Alaric says to Hana. She meets his gaze, a silent conversation passing between them. Reluctantly, she nods and moves to leave the room. I watch her go, keeping my eyes on the door even several minutes after it's closed.

"I thought you might feel more comfortable without her here," Alaric says.

I shoot him a look. "More comfortable to tell you what she wants to know, you mean?"

He lets out a long breath, settling on the chair by the fire. The light creates shadows on his face, blue eyes seeming darker under the orange.

He shifts his chair closer. "Can you tell me what happened?"