Page 4 of Dark Rebel's Mystery

Syssi wound her arms around Kian's neck and held on tight. "I can walk, you know."

"I know." He dipped his head and kissed the top of her head. "But I enjoy carrying you and holding you close. Any objections?"

She managed a smile. "None at all."

Once he'd seated her on the couch, he walked over to her cappuccino station. "I've seen you work this machine a thousand times before. I should be able to figure out how to work it."

She chuckled. "It does everything automatically, and it's connected to the water supply, but you need to put in the coffee beans and the milk."

"Got it."

The familiar sounds of grinding and thumping soothed Syssi's frayed nerves, helping her relax enough to organize her thoughts. The image of Kyra chained to that metal bed was burned into her memory—the woman's face so similar to Jasmine's that there had been no mistaking her identity, unless her mind had superimposed Kyra's face on that of a stranger to play tricks on her.

That wasn't likely, though.

After a lifetime of visions, Syssi knew the difference between normal dreams and those that were trying to convey a message, and this one had been loaded with meaning.

The problem was deciphering it. The call for help was obvious, but once again, the clues about how to proceed were missing.

"Here." Kian set the two cappuccinos he'd made on the coffee table and sat beside her. "I hope I didn't mess it up too badly, but it's definitely not up to your standards." He pointed to the frothed milk. "I tried to make a heart, but it didn't come out right."

It was funny how worried he looked, but his concern wasn't entirely unwarranted. Syssi wasn't obsessive about many things, but she was very particular about her coffee and how she liked it.

"I'm sure it's great." She lifted the cup and took a sip. "It's perfect," she said, and it wasn't a lie. It might not have been as aesthetically pleasing as the cups she made, but he'd gotten the taste and temperature perfect, which wasn't easy even with the automation.

She kept the cup cradled between her palms as she folded her legs under her robe to keep them warm.

"That's a relief." Kian pretended to wipe sweat from his forehead. "It means a lot to get a compliment from the master."

She laughed. "You did well, my faithful apprentice."

Smiling, he dipped his head. "Ready to tell me what you saw?"

Syssi nodded. "Kyra was in a cell, and she was chained to a metal bed by her wrists, but not her ankles. Except, she was so heavily drugged that I don't know why they bothered to chain her."

He frowned. "How do you know she was drugged?"

"I'm getting there." Syssi took another sip, hoping the warmth of the coffee would bolster her courage. "At first, when the dream started, I didn't know that she was drugged and assumed she was asleep." Syssi closed her eyes. "She was young, no older than Jasmine is now, and the resemblance between them was striking."

"The vision must have been from the past," Kian said. "Unless..."

She arched a brow. "Unless what?"

"Unless it was just a dream rather than a vision, and your mind put Jasmine in that cell."

Syssi shook her head. "No. It was definitely a vision. It had that quality—that sense of watching something real unfold before mymind's eye." She took a shaky breath. "The differences can be subtle, but I have enough experience with visions to recognize the particular feeling I get when the universe is trying to tell me something."

Kian nodded. "I don't doubt that. What else did you see?"

The coffee suddenly tasted sour in her mouth. "There was..." Syssi swallowed hard. "There was a man." The words felt like broken glass in her throat. "He entered the cell wearing a doctor's coat, but instead of checking on Kyra, he sat on the bed beside her and started touching her inappropriately." Her hands tightened around the coffee cup. "Kyra didn't fight him. That is why I think that she was drugged. She just lay there and let him pull down her pants." She swallowed. "Along with her underwear." Syssi's voice cracked. "I forced myself to wake up when he mounted her. I couldn't watch what happened next."

Kian's expression darkened, but then he attempted a weak smile. "Are you certain it wasn't consensual? Some people enjoy playing kinky games?—"

"Don't." Syssi lifted a hand to stop him. She and Kian enjoyed slightly spicy activity from time to time, but what she'd seen in the vision hadn't been about fun and games. "This wasn't play, Kian. And just to make sure that I did not have any misconceptions about what I'd seen in the dream, there was the second vision that barreled into me while I was in your office."

His smile faded. "Did he say anything to her?"

Closing her eyes, Syssi forced herself to recall what she'd witnessed. "Yes. He said a few words. I think it was in Farsi, but I'm not sure."

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