Page 211 of The Chains You Defy

And what did I do? Of course, I shoved this theory very far away and distracted myself.

Opening the package, I extracted its contents and frowned. Inside was a metal-made object, and the mystery gift had a silver-colored handle and two prongs in a U-shape. Meeting my gaze, Dion smiled.

“You have no idea what that is, do you?”

“No. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. On the surface, that’s a tuning fork.” He took the item from my hand, gently hit the tool againsthis bracelet, and held the small thing close to my ear. “Do you hear that?”

A clear sound caressed my eardrum, and moments later, Dion hummed in the same tune. “The note the fork plays helps you find the right pitch?”

“Yes, exactly.”

Not showing my confusion about why he’d gifted me something like that, I received the present back and examined the object.

“This was mine when I was young and more of a musician than a fighter.”

My eyes widened as I finally understood. Dion had given me a piece of his past, something connected to a part of himself undeniably precious to him. Cradling the small item to my chest, I stared at him with huge eyes.

“But the little trinket isn’t the real present. No, I’m making you a promise. An oath to tell you about my past, about everything that happened. Although telling might be the wrong word. I’ll show you, if you allow.”

“Show me? How do you plan to do that?”

“During our sleep. I’m sure I’ve mastered slipping into your dreams by now.”

“You have what?”

“Visiting your dreams. Come on, Naya, are you kidding me?”

“How, Dion?”

“When you were—held captive? Before I brought you to Ivreiana?”

“That conversation was real?”

“Yes.”

“What about the vivid nightmares in Ivreia?”

“I wasn’t aware of what it was back then, but yes, we had a few matching visions. So, most likely, we already visited each other’s dreams back then as well.”

Naya’s eyes had sunken deep into her face, and she looked so, so fatigued. Even her anger was no more than a tiny spark inside her mesmerizing irises. “And you didn’t deem the fact that you can dream-haunt me important enough to tell me?”

“Dreamwalk.”

“Dream-haunt sounds more fitting.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Fine, dream-haunt then.”

She sighed deeply, then sank deeper into the pillows—and into my arms. “Thank you, Dion. For this gift. I’d like to see your past. But we’ll argue about you keeping yet another secret from me once I’ve regained the energy to yell at you.”

“That’s fine, my goddess. If you want, you can rest. I’ll stay. And show you the beginning.”

As if this had been the permission she’d been waiting for, her eyes fell shut, and her breath evened out. She was still clutching my tuning fork, which made me smile despite the whole steaming shitpile of a situation we were in.

Gently, my finger lingered on the skin underneath her collarbone, and I pushed some more of my life force into her exhausted form.

Ireas had warned me not to overdo sacrificing winters, but since he wasn’t here and hadn’t examined her for at least two hours, I was better safe than sorry. Also, transferring energy had the side effect of tiring me out too. Tugging my tiny female closer to keep her protected, I concentrated on her dreams and on what I wanted to show her.