Page 312 of Awakened

“I wish I knew,” I sigh.

“Do you think it’s alive?”

I’m already nodding before she’s even finished.

“It has to be. Something’s in there. Calling to me. Then there’s the eye from my dream. It was looking at me. I know it was.”

“Dreams are very important,” she agrees. “You should take them seriously.”

“I don’t know how.”

Branwen pulls her hair over her shoulder and starts splitting it into sections. “Why haven’t you tried anything?”

“I’m afraid,” I admit, wrapping my arms around my legs. “I wish I had a better answer. Maybe if I’d tried something when we first got here, we’d be long gone by now.”

“You needed this time. To learn about yourself. To come to terms with what you are and what you can do. Especially with all those knotheads running around causing drama at the castle.”

I nod. I certainly would never have found time to work through my issues with my Mates around every corner. Caelan and Soren would hover, and Dax and Vae would… well… exist.

For a long while, we sit in silence, both of us lost in our thoughts. Before long, my eyes start to feel heavy, and I bite back what must be my tenth yawn in half as many minutes.

“I need a nap,” I murmur, exhaustion finally catching up to me now that I’m no longer starving.

“I thought you’d never ask,” Branwen moans dramatically, slipping her arm from mine and pushing to her feet. She turns and heads back toward the Chamber where we’ve spent the last two nights, but I don’t follow. I don’t know why, but I don’t want to leave this spot now that I’m here.

She only makes it a few feet before she glances over her shoulder, realizing I’m not behind her.

“You coming?”

I shake my head, gesturing at the pillar. “I’m going to stay here for a bit.”

I have a feeling anyone else would have pushed, but not Branwen. She never questions me when I have a gut feeling, and she never makes me feel stupid for doing something other people might consider strange.

“Suit yourself.” She smiles, gives me a mock salute, and continues on her way.

I scoot back a few feet, so I don’t accidentally roll into the water, then lie down and curl into a ball. My limbs feel like they weigh a thousand pounds, heavy with exhaustion. As I fall asleep, I swear I can hear the faint, deep resonance of a pulse coming from the pillar.

* * *

I’m standing on the platform in the middle of the lake.

I don’t know how I know, but I’m sure of it. There’s nothing around me. Nothing but endless darkness. A black so absolute it extends into eternity.

“Hello?” My voice sounds breathy, but the sound echoes through the Void, folding in on itself before returning at a much higher volume.

I turn in a slow circle, hands extended so I don’t run into anything.

There’s nothing to run into, though. It’s just me, the platform under my feet, and the never-ending Void.

I know this is a dream, just like I knew it was a dream when I was with Caelan in the meadow, and that brings me a small measure of relief.

“Is anyone there?” This time I shout, then hold my breath, waiting for a response.

Nothing.

My eyesight never adjusts. Not even when I strain to pierce through the thick blanket of darkness. I have the oddest sense that the night sky is high above me, filled with stars glittering like a thousand diamonds.

The cavern begins to pulse. Earth, wind, fire, and water—all four elements beating in sync with my heart. The rhythm grows, increasing in intensity until all I can hear is the steady whooomp, whooomp thrumming louder and louder.