[ the second book in the drops of sunshine series ]
As much as she ended up loving her first one, AJ Hood never wanted to go on another quest. But somehow, she ended up on one anyway. And this time, it's not going to have a pretty ending... but at...
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~ ☼ ~
I did not want to tell my friends. I didn't want to ruin the vibes of the quest so far. Lucas and Kiera were already so angsty, and I think this might've been the last hurrah for Aria and Kiera together. I couldn't - couldn't tell them that.
So I kept my mouth shut and pretended I hadn't dreamt anything.
"Are you okay?" Lucas asked me anyway. His storm eyes were concerned. I wanted to focus on them, but I also wanted to run at Usain Bolt-speed from how closely he was looking at me.
We were just pulling into Cleveland. I could see the station outside, but we weren't allowed to disembark yet. In the distance, the skyscrapers of the city touched the sky and made me think of the smoke of Percy's shroud.
"I'm fine," I said. "Bad dream."
"You were muttering in your sleep," he continued. "I heard the word 'titans' and the word 'death'."
My stomach plummeted. I tried to put on a brave face and act normal, laughing awkwardly.
"Well, you know nightmares this time of year," I said.
He frowned, looking disappointed, but didn't push any more.
I looked over at Aria and Kiera. Aria was awake, having stolen Kiera's earbuds; they still, I think, connected to air, unless Lucas had loaned her his secret Blackberry. She stared out the window mindlessly. Kiera was just waking up, rubbing her eyes.
"Damn," she said. "We're here already?"
I nodded. "You slept the entire time."
She yawned once more, then said, "Ugh. I had the weirdest dream, too."
Lucas' eyes went back to me, making me stiffen. I focused on Kiera, hoping she would continue; luckily, she did.
"I dreamt of this... abandoned mall. It was like, totally dead, and the roof was caving in and everything. I think it was near here. I... I think that's where we're supposed to go."
Finally, Aria broke her own daze. She lookd unhappier than normal, and it showed when she said, "You want us to go to an abandoned mall."
"Yes." Kiera frowned at her. "It's my quest, isn't it? And demigods have psychic dreams all the time. We're definitely supposed to go there. I can feel it in my bones."
I gulped.
"You sure this isn't just an attempt to go to an abandoned mall because it's cool?" I asked her, making her scowl.
"No," she said. "I swear, this is it."
So when we got off the train, we asked a worker at the station where an abandoned mall near here was. He said the only place he could think of was this place called Merrill Park Mall, in some suburb outside of town.
