𝙳𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚎(𝙰𝙲𝙾𝚃𝙰𝚁)

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖋𝖎𝖋𝖙𝖞-𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖊

     Cassian had come to the library early that morning, just as I was getting ready to leave for training. The grim expression on his face made me freeze at the doorway to the stairwell that led up to the House. 

"What's going on?" I asked, meeting his anxious hazel eyes. 

"It's Nesta," he answered. 

     Nerves pooled in my chest, nausea settling in the pit of my stomach and making me take a step back. 

"Is she alright?" 

"She's fine," he promised. "But last night, she . . . she had a nightmare. It was bad enough that Azriel and I could sense it from our rooms. And when we got there, she was asleep, but she was burning." 

"Burning?" I whispered, my eyes wide in horror. 

"She was covered in silver flames," he explained. "They were engulfing her. It took Rhys, Azriel, and I to wake her. And Rhys went into her head. It was . . . it was bad, Raea." 

"Gods," I uttered, taking it all in. 

"She won't talk to any of us about it," he went on. "But she likes you. I think she might open up to you." 

"I won't push her to," I declined, shaking my head. "But if she talks willingly, I will listen." 

"Fine," he agreed, nodding. 

"Will she be at training today?" I asked with a huff. 

"Yes," he confirmed. "She's already up there. So we should be joining her." 

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

     I knew something was wrong the moment I set my eyes upon Nesta. She was pale, too pale, and she wouldn't meet anyone's eyes. Not even mine. 

     Three more Priestesses had chosen to join us the day before. Roslin, Deirdre, and Ananke. Of all the Priestesses I'd expected to join us, Deirdre was the only surprise. 

     Deirdre even took her hood off to train, which she rarely did. She was very insecure about the scar that stretched from her hairline to her jaw. She had more under her robes, that I only knew about because I counseled her.

     Roslin, I expected to join us eventually. I was close with Roslin, since she counseled me. And I'd been working with her to counsel others for centuries.

     Ananke had always been polite and even a bit talkative when you got to know her. She was determined to leave her past behind, and to overcome her trauma. So it didn't surprise me when she showed up.    

"What happened to you?" Emerie asked Nesta as we panted through our abdominal exercises. "You look white as death."

"Bad dreams," Nesta said. 

"Do you have them often?" Gwyn asked her. 

"Yes," Nesta admitted. 

"Me too," Gwyn said quietly. "Some nights, I need a sleeping potion from our healer to knock me out."

"The potions work for you?" I asked Gwyn curiously. She nodded. "They make my nightmares worse." 

"You may be taking too much, or not enough," Gwyn shrugged. "I had to play around with the dosage for a while before it worked for me." 

     I frowned, considering that. The last time I'd taken one, the nightmares had been so horrific and vivid, I never wanted to risk it again. 

"What did you dream about?" Emerie asked Nesta.

     Nesta tensed, but seemed to shake off whatever hesitation the words had triggered. "I dreamed of the Cauldron. What it did to me."

"I dream of my past, too," Gwyn chimed, playing with her hair.