She turns her head to me. “Chrys, if you die in a dream, do you think you’d die in real life?”
I shake my head slowly. “No, that’s—”
“Impossible.”
My throat feels dry. What she’s saying doesn’t really make sense to me, but I know one thing. If something doesn’t make sense—if it seems impossible—then it must be related to a gift.
“Dreams,” Valeria says. “It’s dreams. Last night, right before I did this,” she points at her eyes briefly, “I saw a man standing right before me. He looked like maybe Li’s age, and he was blond, and he said, ‘Help me.’ But that man—I’ve seen him before, in Bluewater. And I saw him in Adrien’s dream too, right before he died. That man pushed Adrien off a cliff and Adrien died in that dream. When I first saw it, I didn’t think anything of it—I mean, dreams are usually nonsense. But Adrien never woke up from that dream.”
“If that man is responsible, why would he ask you to help him?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t know. All I know is I’ve had plenty of dreams where I’ve been hurt and I’ve never woken up to find it’s really happened to me.”
“That must be his gift. He can make things that happen in dreams real.”
“Exactly.” Valeria exhales deeply. “Look, I don’t think you need to go into town anymore, Chrys. I think we’ve figured it out.”
“But we still don’t know who exactly this guy is and why he’s targeting us.”
“Your second task was to find out how Adrien died, and you know now. The rest isn’t up to you to figure out.”
I take the envelope from my lap and stand up. “Fine. I’ll talk to Li about it. But you never know, the third task might be to go into town anyway.”
“No, that’s not the third task. That would never be the third task. It’s always the same.”
“What is it then?”
She sighs. “Something impossible to do. That’s all I can say.” She bows her head and fidgets with the blanket covering her legs. “Chrys, I thought this was what I wanted but I see it now. That man can influence dreams. I was manipulated. That dream was perfectly concocted to make me do—make me do this. And now, I kind of… I kind of want to see again.”
“I can get Ana Maria.”
She nods once, slowly.
I go out to the lounge. Remington and Ana Maria are sitting on one of the couches silently. Ana Maria’s head is buried in Remington’s side and he has an arm around her, idly patting her back as he stares off into the distance.
“Ana Maria,” I say.
She moves away from Remington. She isn’t crying anymore but her eyes are red.
“I know Valeria was mean to you earlier but—” I start.
“She wants me to heal her now,” Ana Maria finishes in a flat tone.
“Yes.”
She gets to her feet and goes to the infirmary without another word.
“How is she?” Remington says, pointing at his head.
“Better. I think she’ll be alright.”
He looks relieved and gets up. “I’ll stay with Ana Maria until she heals. I don’t want her to be alone.”
I nod. “She’d like that.”
He goes into the infirmary.
I look at the envelope in my hands, at the calligraphy name on it. His sister. If he knows where she is, why does he stay here? Why not go to her and be with his family? If I had a family to go to, I’d run to them in a heartbeat.
I turn the letter over, looking at the sealed flap, and turn it back to the front. Sure, I’d run to my family if I could, but would they want to be with me, knowing everything I’ve done?
Probably not.
And Ron, who is like my sister—if I told her about my gift, would she want to be with me still?
I shake my head quickly, trying to get the thought out.
Don’t think about that. Don’t think about that.
Putting the envelope down at my side, I go into the computer room and turn one on. When it boots up, I log into my email, excited and nervous to see a new one from Ron.
I read it. It makes my stomach feel heavy.
The man kept hostage and that man in Valeria’s dream asking for help. They have to be the same person. And a scanner that knows if you’re gifted or not? If Hunter and I walk into town too carelessly, we may get discovered.
This is getting to be overwhelming.
I press compose.
Ron,
Thanks for the update. Things are kind of crazy here.
That man you found—he’s definitely gifted and we think he’s the cause of that boy dying. He can manipulate dreams and make things that happen in dreams happen in real life too.
He’s dangerous and his brother seems dangerous too so DO NOT GO BACK THERE.
I’ll tell the people in charge here about it and they’ll decide what to do.
Also, I’ll probably be coming into town today. I’m not entirely sure but even if it’s not really necessary, I still want to go so we can see each other again.
Oh also, you wouldn’t happen to have seen a woman named Giselle around town? Dark hair, widow’s peak, burn scars on her legs. Her brother is in my cabin and he asked me to put a letter in her mailbox or something, so if you know where she lives, that’d be helpful.
Looking forward to seeing you soon, maybe.
Chrys
I send it and shut down the computer. I go out to the hall and knock on both Li’s office door and the sitting room next to it but no response. Not sure where else she could be, I slowly open the unmarked door across from her office.
It leads to a spiral staircase going straight up. I go up the stairs, heart pounding, like I’m going somewhere I shouldn’t be. But Li didn’t say I’m not allowed up there when she told
