I stared at the open spot for a long beat, frowning. “We’re not all cuddling together on this cot, are we?”
When I risked a glance in their direction, I found a small smile playing at the corners of Zoe’s mouth. Her eyes remained glassy, as if she was continuously fighting off tears, but she managed a moment of mirth. “We don’t roll that way. You’re safe.”
Aric winked at me and slid his arm around Zoe’s back. “You have to calm yourself, baby. I know you’re upset right now, but this is only going to work if you take a deep breath and let your mind drift.”
Zoe’s expression remained stoic. “Aric?”
“Hmm?”
“Shut up. I know what I’m doing.”
He chuckled and kissed her forehead. “Let’s do this.”
From my spot at the end of the cot, I watched the two of them melt together. Aric leaned his back against the wall and pulled Zoe so her head rested on his chest. He closed his eyes, their breathing falling into the same rhythm.
“I can’t do this if you stare at me,” Zoe said to me without opening her eyes. “You need to relax, too.”
“I don’t know what to do,” I admitted. “I ... this feels really weird.”
“It’s not dirty. I’m pretty sure you can dream walk. You can travel between planes, right? Dream walking should be simple.”
On the face of it, I agreed with the statement. Still, this felt somehow off. “How am I supposed to know where to find you?”
“You’ll know.” Zoe sounded sure of herself. “Lean against the wall, align your breathing with mine.”
“I don’t have to touch you, do I?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Good, because I’m not sure I can go the freaky threesome route, even if it’s not a true threesome.”
“Shh,” Aric admonished. “Just ... drift. Zoe will handle the rest.”
I watched him for the moment, my heart pinging as he rested his cheek against his wife’s forehead. Their daughter was missing, set out on a mission of her own making, and in terrible danger. Other parents would be freaking out. Zoe and Aric had closed themselves off in a small room, with me, to find their daughter on a dream plane.
The entire thing was baffling.
“Close your eyes, Scout,” Zoe admonished. “You’re wasting time.”
Because she was right, I did as she asked. The first few minutes were tense while I tried to get comfortable and not focus on the fact that they were wrapped around one another on my right. However, it didn’t take long for the sound of their breathing to lull me.
I was certain I wouldn’t be capable of drifting off. I was wrong. Within minutes, I crossed over to a gray realm, and found myself in an entirely different world.
“Where ... are we?” I asked when the scent of leaves and foliage assailed my olfactory senses. Before anyone could answer, my eyes popped open and I looked around. We were in a clearing in the middle of the forest, although there were no landmarks for me to gauge where. “What is this place?”
Zoe and Aric appeared from behind me, their eyes trained on the tree line.
“We were hoping you could tell us that,” Aric said, lifting his nose to the air.
“Anything?” Zoe asked hopefully.
He shook his head. “I’ve told you before that my senses are dulled when we do this. It’s as if I’m a visitor in my own head or something. I don’t know how to explain it.”
Zoe chewed on her bottom lip and nodded. “Okay. Stick close.” She started walking forward. “We all ended up here for a reason. I think that’s because Sami is close.”
I wanted to ask how she knew that. I considered my senses sharp, my feel for magic keen, and yet this place was an empty echo chamber. “Maybe we should call out to her,” I suggested, running a shaky hand through my hair. I felt off my game. “If she’s here, she might be hiding.”
“Good idea. Sami!” Zoe screamed so loudly I swear the trees stood at attention and saluted.
Aric joined in. “Sami!”
They took turns yelling their daughter’s name, moving closer to the trees. They didn’t cross the line and disappear into the darkness; something was holding them back. Then it occurred to me. “Is this like your other dream walking excursions?”
Zoe shook her head. “No. This is different. Maybe Sami is frightened and shut down. We can usually control our environment when we do this.”
“How?” I was honestly curious. I was also suspicious. Yet I wanted to be absolutely sure before I voiced my concern.
“I don’t know.” Zoe planted her hands on her hips. “Why are you acting weird?”
“Let’s calm down.” Aric took her hand. “There’s no reason to turn on each other.”
“I’m not acting weird, Zoe. I’m simply trying to get a feel for your process. What were the other instances like?”
Aric was the one who responded. “Zoe controls the magic but somehow I’m allowed input on where we go. When it first started, we revisited memories of one another. In fact, she was sick on the bathroom floor when it happened the first time. She was pregnant, although we didn’t know it at the time, and she’d just thrown up in the kitchen sink during a cake tasting. We shared a dream of our first meeting. Except, the weird thing was, I was experiencing the dream from her perspective. That’s when I knew something weird was up. After that, we started doing it on purpose. We hit up our favorite memories, and even a few sad ones. Once we added Sami to the mix, we turned it into a literary game.”
Zoe’s expression softened. “We took her to Hobbiton, and Hogwarts ... and even Dracula’s castle. She loved watching Aric fend off the female vampires.”
Aric jabbed a finger in her direction. “You’re the one who did the weird thing with the vampires. You also made Dracula look like Colin Farrell because you were hot for him at the time.”
Zoe snorted. “At the time?
