Cassi was convinced the servants considered her the laziest person in the world, sleeping at all hours of the day, lounging like the queen she wasn’t as they tried to work around her. But the truth was that, as the days passed and Lyana’s birthday neared, it was just easier to slip into her spirit body and live vicariously through everyone else, rather than shoulder the heavy burden of her lies any longer.
Sometimes she watched Rafe, alone in his room, twirling his twin blades through empty air, a grim line on his lips and a hard look in his eyes. Sometimes she followed Lyana, noting her friend’s longing glances outside, the forced smile on her face, the way she ruffled her wings like a caged bird aching to escape. Cassi discovered that her favorite place was a small room at the very top of the castle where the walls were made of books and a warm fire usually burned and a lonely prince often read to pass the time. She drifted along the shelves, reading the spines, hating that her invisible fingers slid right through the pages rather than gripping them, but relieved her spirit body didn’t require glasses the way her physical body did. When Xander was there, she’d lean over his shoulder to read the open volume in his lap, though most recently he’d been scanning map after map after map, frustration pursing his lips.
You’re not going crazy, she wanted to whisper in his ear like a guardian spirit. The isle was shrinking, slowly over a long period of time, but shrinking nonetheless. They all were, all seven houses. As the magic in the god stones weakened, chunks of rock fell away, no longer held in the air by the spell, falling back where they belonged—into the world below. It was only a matter of time before the damage grew worse, more noticeable, more fatal. Only a matter of time before someone aside from the crown prince of the least respected house took notice.
Cassi kept her lips sealed.
Because it was time her king direly needed.
She’d already found him that evening and gone over the plans a final time. Now it was a waiting game. Lyana’s birthday was only one day away. They were throwing a celebration in her honor tomorrow, and the next day was the mating ceremony. More importantly, it was the day her friend turned eighteen. Cassi had no idea at what hour Lyana had been born, so as soon as midnight struck, she would be on alert, waiting for the sign, any sign, that Lyana was the person Cassi knew in her soul she was. Everyone was in position. Everyone was ready. There was only one more stop to make before morning broke.
It felt longer than three weeks since she’d last seen him, since she’d been the one sleeping underneath that ashen wing, since she’d been the one wrapped within those loving arms.
Luka.
Cassi floated over his bed, an odd sensation of both pleasure and pain swirling across her spirit as she watched him with his mate. The new princess of the House of Peace was beautiful, skin like porcelain, auburn wings that glowed amber in the soft candlelight. A small smile was barely visible over the curve of the shale-tinted feathers covering her in her sleep. Luka’s face was relaxed, at ease. No creases. Dark skin perfectly smooth. They were curled toward each other like two sides of a heart, a moment she hated to interrupt, but nonetheless would.
Cassi pressed her wispy hand to his brow and dove into his dream. The chaos of his mind was like a calm stream compared to the rushing torrent of her king’s, but that was to be expected. People with strong magic dreamed in brighter colors and louder sounds, in flashing sparks fueled by the power, a madness far more charged than that of a normal soul like Luka’s. But Cassi didn’t mind, in fact she liked it. She enjoyed slipping into the dream as though she were sliding into a cool lake on a hot day, rather than wrestling some beast to the ground.
The image was woven in an instant, maybe because she’d lived it so many times before. The two of them were in her room at the crystal palace, an hour before the sun was about to rise, when mauve dawn shone through the translucent wall, glittering across his ashy wings. His hand was beneath her cheek. Hers were huddled up against his chest. And though she knew it wasn’t fair to make him dream this dream when he had a new mate and new life of his own, she couldn’t stop herself. She wanted one more morning of waking up in his arms, of feeling like nothing more than a woman, simple and safe and secure, not the monster she knew she was about to become, the monster her deeds would turn her into.
“Cassi?” he murmured, eyes blinking open.
“Shh.” She pressed her finger against his plush lips. They widened into a broad smile beneath her touch, but he remained quiet, watching her as though the entire world lived within her eyes.
Had he dreamed this dream before?
After she’d left?
Had he missed her?
It didn’t matter. Cassi didn’t have the luxury of missing him.
“Don’t worry about Lyana.”
Soft laughter escaped him. “How many times have you told me that before? What’s she done this time? Did Mother catch her sneaking to the sky bridge again?”
He didn’t understand.
It happened often when she visited the dreams of people who didn’t know about her magic or the dreams of people who lacked magic altogether. Their minds fought to make sense of the impossible, fought to make her fit. Right now, his mind had sent him back into the past, before the trials, before the breakup, before she’d left.
“No,” she said, and shifted her hand so her palm held the side of his strong jaw, her fingers brushing over his coarse, dark hair as her thumb stroked the curve of his cheek. “No, Luka. Please try to remember this. Lyana is fine. Lyana is safe. And you’ll see her again, I promise. Don’t worry about what you hear. Remember my words. Remember my voice. Lyana is going to save the world.”
He raised his brows. “Cassi, what are you talking about?”
“Nothing.” She sighed, not wanting to push him too far.
Luka would wake up imagining he’d had the strangest dream, but it could be nothing more than that, nothing that interfered with her king’s plans. Cassi wasn’t supposed to be there, but she couldn’t help trying to give him a little hope to get him through the time to come. She owed him that much, at least.
He pulled her close. Cassi let her head glide toward the nook of his neck as her arms clutched his back to hold him as tightly as possible. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. She let him.
“Goodbye, Luka,” she whispered against his warm skin. “Please remember.”
Then she let the dream dissolve.
She retreated.
Luka’s eyes opened when she slid from his mind. He blinked into the night, confused. His gaze darted around the room as though searching for her in the shadows, because that dream had been so vivid, so bizarre, so very real. But of course, it was only a dream. Nothing more. So, after a moment, he shook his head, dispelling whatever curiosities lingered in his mind, and settled back on his pillow. He tightened his grip on his mate and drew her a little closer, taking a moment to run his fingers over her smooth cheek and press a kiss to her brow. Then he went back to sleep.
Cassi fled to the sky and let the wind carry her back to her body for a few hours of true rest. She would need it. The real work was only just beginning.