Page 47 of A Dance of Water (Moon Song #2)

DRUG ME, DREAM ME

LUELLA

L uella watched as the dark-haired male— Caliban —ran with reckless abandon through the woods. Everything was shrouded in the darkness of night, and she struggled to find him as he darted between trees. Her own pace was quick, but her breaths were even as she ran after him.

Something urged her, demanding that she follow.

His sobs echoed, and she chased after the sound.

She finally found Caliban, half-collapsed against a rock as he wailed. A large cliff stood by his side, jagged and filled with cavernous holes. The sound of his anguish was more desperate than the cry of a babe. She walked closer, standing over him. He did not see her.

The air rustled through the canopy of trees, Caliban’s cries blending with the wind. "It’s too much. Gods, it’s too much. I just want to die. Why can’t I die…"

The wind was his only answer, but all at once, it stopped.

From the deep corners of the darkest cavern, a sinister whisper beckoned.

He lifted his head, messy dark hair falling into his eyes. "Is anyone there?" His voice was thick with tears.

The shadows stretched and grew, and she watched as Caliban stood, walking slowly to a deep hole carved into the side of the cliffs.

Luella followed, face beside his, as she stared into the hole. It was vast, yawning, and she swore something stared right back at her from its depths. A shudder wracked her frame, and she stepped back, uneasy with whatever was unfolding.

Something tickled her foot, and she gasped, the sound loud in the unnatural quiet of the forest. Shadows curled around her ankle, and she jolted, jerking her foot back as the shadows retreated, slithering like a serpent over the dark grass and pine needles.

Her brow furrowed.

Wait . She had seen brittle pine needles like these before, had even smelled the scent of pine that pierced the night air.

With sudden clarity, she staggered back. "The Silva Noctis."

The shadows seemed to laugh at her.

Caliban pulled away from the hole, shaking his head. "Gods, I’m going crazy, aren’t I? I must tell Enora about this…"

He took a step away from the hole, but a thick shadow tangled around his feet and pulled , making him fall face-first onto the pine-laden ground.

"What is this? No!" Caliban gasped, shock clouding his tone. The shadows wrapped around his body. "Oh, gods. No! W-wait," he stuttered fearfully.

His fingernails dug into the dirt, cracking as he desperately clung, but it was no use.

The shadows pulled him into the cave, and he disappeared into the dark, his terrified screams echoing through the vastness and reaching the treetops.

The last thing Luella saw was pleading green eyes, locking onto hers as he was dragged away.

The crack of thunder jolted Luella awake.

Green eyes stared down at her.

She frowned, pressing a hand to her temple. Her mind spun. What had happened?

With a gasp, she shot up, anger filling her. The thunder grew louder. "You drugged me," she accused the dragon shifter before her .

Vale’s green eyes slanted as he sat back. Without him filling her vision, she realized they were not alone.

Tharen sat by the King’s side, Bastian by him. On the other side of the room, Graves stood by the window, unfaltering gaze on her while Az paced, the action mimicking Vale’s earlier path.

"I did," the King agreed with ease.

Her incredulous voice filled the room. " Why ?"

Everything was hazy, and she tried to make sense of the strange looks cast her way. She braced a hand underneath her, shifting back on the soft cushions behind her. Her black gown was rumpled, throat dry. Had she slept for long?

"No, not long, pet," Bastian interrupted, reading her thoughts.

She was too disoriented to be angry that he stole into her mind. Running a hand through her sleep-tangled, white hair, she sighed. "Why did you drug me, Vale?"

"So I could watch you dream." Vale’s words lingered, and she had a hazy recollection of hearing him say that right before she fell into unconsciousness.

"When you said you heard about Caliban in your dreams, we started to wonder." Bastian rubbed a hand over his jaw.

Tharen rested an arm over the back of the lounge. "Vale wanted me to observe you with my magic while you dreamed. Your body was calm, like you were sleeping normally… But your spirit was somewhere else. Somewhere other."

She tried not to reel at what they were sharing—they had planned to drug her just to watch her dream?

Pet… Bastian cajoled. We wouldn’t have done it if we did not think we had to.

I didn’t expect this from you, she whispered, but that may have been foolish of me.

The harsh rumbling of thunder grew closer, and her eyes snapped to the windows behind Graves and Az. The snow had completely stopped. As if in a trance, she stood and walked to the windows, staring out at the dark mass of clouds.

Graves’s face was uncovered, and he stood silently by her side.

"The snow stopped," she said softly, her breath fogging the window. It was still cold. She wrapped her arms around her shoulders as she shivered.

Luella turned away from the window and met Az’s amber eyes. Detached, he stared at her, but she swore she saw the faintest traces of fierce longing.

She reached out for him, but he took a step back.

And she?—

And she couldn’t stand it.

A bolt of lightning fell from the sky, echoed in time by a crashing roll of thunder that reverberated throughout her bones and made her teeth clatter.

The sky opened up, and the perfect storm broke free as if willed by her hand— or her emotions.

A persistent feeling made her pause as she stared out over the sweeping rain that fell in thick sheets.

Could it be true?

"Am I… influencing the weather?" Her words were soft like a secret but loud like a warning.

It was Graves who answered her. "We think so."

Her heart stuttered in her chest. She tangled her hands in her hair and pulled, distraught by the notion that she was so strong she could do something so wondrous. She almost forgot about Az ignoring her—almost.

"Took you long enough to catch on," Tharen provoked. "I was about to start a bet on when you’d realize."

She shook her head, feeling adrift in their midst. "I don’t even know…"

What to say , Bastian finished in her mind. You do not have to say anything. He patted the space on the lounge beside him. "Come sit."

She did, wedged between the cold vampire and the cushions.

"What did you mean, my spirit was somewhere else?" she asked the mage. She could not focus on the revelation of her and the weather. Not right now.

Bastian toyed with the ends of her hair. Knowing he had been aware of Vale drugging her, she tried not to lean into him, but it was so hard when she was so lonely…

"I tried to use my Spirit magic on you while you dreamed, but I could not find you," Tharen said simply. As if it were some simple thing to search for one’s spirit with magic.

"The past," said Graves. His head was slightly turned as he stared out at the rain, and the line of his throat bobbed as he spoke.

"The p-past?" she stuttered. "What, you think I can somehow journey through time?" A laugh bubbled up.

"No," muttered the raven shifter. He inclined his head toward Vale.

The King calmly said, "These dreams you have been having, Luella. They are not dreams, but history."

The smallest bits she could remember gnawed at her with insistence. Shadows, shattering glass, flushed skin, and pleasured moans. Green eyes, and one name—Caliban.

It all clicked.

She did not remember, but she understood.

"You drugged me to invade my body and my spirit, to watch a private moment…" Luella stood and met the King’s gaze. The rain beat against the walls of the castle. "All you had to do was ask, and I would have agreed without you having to drug me."

Smoke filled the room as a rumble started in Vale’s chest. Quickly, she turned, heading for the door.

Luella waited for them to stop her, but in the wake of her soft admission, they were silent.

The rain drowned out the sound of her footsteps as she left.