Page 78 of Take Root

I blink. “It’s the truth . . . but, also, Iamdreaming. Aren’t I?” A note of uncertainty creeps into my voice. “Aren’t I?”

Sitting up abruptly, I pinch myself. That hurt. Why did that hurt? “What’s going on?”

“You’re asleep,” Leigh explains, a mischievous grin on her lips.

“So, this is a dream?”

“Yes, but it’s more like lucid dreaming. I haven’t quite figured out its mechanics yet.”

A lump forms in my throat. “Wait, areyoureal?”

“Real enough.”

I swallow. What the hell is happening?

“I’m dreamwalking,” Leigh clarifies. “While you’re asleep, I can enter your dream and see what you see. But this time is different from the last. I tried to reenter the person’s dream I visited the first time, yet ended up here with you. It’s different, though. You seem more aware, more . . . you.”

Tentatively, I reach out and touch her cheek again, marveling at the familiar peachy smoothness of her skin. “I’m confused. How can you do this?”

“Ravi,” she states simply. Leigh shrugs in a noncommittal gesture. “He’s teaching me about my magic. Or he was . . .”

Holy shit, she’s inside my dream.

It hits me like a bullet to the chest. Leigh is in my subconscious, and I just confessed my love. Again.

And she didn’t say it back. Again.

Glancing sidelong at Leigh, I struggle to find words.

“Honestly, I’m not entirely sure how I got here,” Leigh admits, seemingly oblivious to my inner turmoil. Her touch on my forearm sends a jolt of warmth through my veins. “You must have been thinking about me when you fell asleep. And then, suddenly, I was here.”

That’s an understatement. Leigh is always on my mind.

“Is it as real for you as it is for me?” I ask.

“More. When I entered Janus’s dream, I woke up covered in dirt. At least, I think it was her dream. That’s why I agreed to let Ravi train me—so that I could do it again. Except he refused to teach me about dreamwalking in depth, and this time, I’m in your head instead of hers.”

I balk at the revelation that Leigh invaded Janus’s dream. I agree with Ravi; being inside Janus’s head, where she is most vulnerable, is not a good idea for Leigh. She could misconstrue something, leading to potentially lethal outcomes. However, I know that if I lecture her now, she will only get angry. It’s best to share my thoughts when we are both awake and can have a proper discussion. Pushing my concerns aside for the moment, I ask, “In the other dream, was it similar to this?”

The world around us seems to shimmer, the edges blurring like a watercolor painting.

Leigh shivers. “None of you were as you are in real life.”

“I was in Janus’s dream, too?” I press.

She nods, avoiding my gaze. My chest tightens.

“Why won’t you look at me?” I urge, my voice calm despite the dread coursing through me. The thought of hurting her, even in a dream, is unbearable. “What did I do?”

“It doesn’t matter. It wasn’t real,” Leigh murmurs, hugging her knees tighter.

My jaw clenches. Whatever transpired, it was real enough to leave a mark on her.

I touch her chin, tilting her face until our eyes meet. “Leigh, I’m sorry.”

“Why apologize? It wasn’t you.”

“Because whatever dream me did, it hurt you.”