Page 101 of A Dance of Water

She tried not to reel at what they were sharing—they had planned todrugher 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 thewindow. 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’tstandit.

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, butI could notfindyou," 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 allclicked.

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