Page 44 of The Cerulean Sister
The rumor seems too outlandish to be true, and I am not surprised 99's predecessor didn't find anything.
August has told me the crazy stories Viathan parents tell naughty children about priestesses to get them to behave. The bile that rises every time my world’s shortcomings are brought to the forefront isn't as often as it was when I first arrived.
I no longer lash out in blind defense. The things said and rumored about my former home and vows do not matter now. What matters are the people who bring them to my attention with empathy, even if it is flawed but good-natured.
We are together again, and what happens on a world far off on the other side of the space between doesn't seem so important when I am with my family here.
Leema has a right to choose her path, and so do I.
"Now, I want to hear August recite all twelve names of his nieces and nephews," I say, trying desperately to cling to the love and warmth in this room.
August downs his flask without hesitation. "Alright, this will be easy. Four of them are named the same thing.”
"No, they're not," 99 says, perplexed.
I have to grab my stomach and lean forward to stop the cramping feeling of laughing so hard at August’s genuinely confused face, like he's been calling some of his young family members the same name for years.
My head is pounding as I lie in bed next to 99. I have vague memories of him cradling me while trying to slowly drive us back to our little house nestled in the market street.
But terrible dreams of my sister have woken me, ones that still have my heart pounding and sweat coating my skin. I am used to the nightmares about the Estate stopping us from leaving, of Crixa killing Calliape when she threw her, but tonight was different.
Tonight, I dreamed of the Albright.
A fresh wave of panic ebbs through me when I acknowledge its name, even within my dreamy state. My light casts outward from our bed in a bright green glow like fog billowing over water rings. It ripples outward, reflecting off every metal surface. The illuminated room casts distorted and horrific shapes onto the walls, and my heart sinks as a shadow takes the shape of a dark monster crawling down from the corner.
I shoot upright and hold an orb out, ready to throw it at the creature that has spilled out from my nightmare into our home . . . but there is nothing there. Only 99's armor lay upright in the chair near the window, the wardrobe askew but as it was this morning.
99 shifts beside me, and I try to dissipate my orb quickly so the light doesn't wake him, but it’s too late.
I've woken him many times with my nightmares, but tonight he can sense it is different. He grabs me by the waist and pulls me tighter until his breath fans against the back of my neck.
"What was it about?" he murmurs, knowing immediately I had another nightmare.
I gently stroke his hand on my waist, the image of the Albright in my head kept safely away from our tether.
He sits up when I do not answer. "Ferren?"
"I dreamed of the creature in the cave," I whisper, not wanting to say its name aloud.
He pauses, waiting to see if I will elaborate on any detail, but I can't. I have no idea in the three worlds why I dreamed of the Albright, and for some reason that terrifies me more.
"What was the dream about?"
"I was there again, playing out the same events that happened. You were stuck and I was alone. The conversation was exactly the same, what it said to me, like I wasn't having a nightmare but replaying a memory exactly how it happened, down to every detail."
"We can walk or read if you like," 99 offers, but his voice is so sleepy.
"No, no." I pull his arm back to my waist, prompting him to lie back down.
He kisses the back of my neck, and even though his breathing evens out, I know he will not fall asleep again until I do.
However, in our dark, silent room and with a clearer head, I am able to fully process what Calliape told me.
I have to keep resisting the instinct to be defensive when bad things are brought to my attention about my former world, because if one thing was not what it seemed and right under my nose all my life, then it's probable that another is too.
Admitting that sends another wave of terror.
"Do you think what Calliape said about the temple is a rumor?"
