Page 33 of The Oracle's Journey

Emmelina

Islept hard that night at the inn. My sleep was so deep that I almost missed Nicolas.

“Emmelina, please, let me know you’re safe.” He sounded anguished, and I didn’t want him to keep hurting. I found the strength to pull myself up from the depths of my dreamless sleep to where he was waiting and sat up.

It wasn’t my real body, of course. I wasn’t anywhere truly tangible, nor was it something I could adequately explain. It was a place where minds could meet while they slept. As far as I knew, only Nicolas and I could come here. Perhaps I’d somehow created it out of my desire to speak to him instead of waiting weeks for letters to cross the continent. There was nothing to be seen there aside from me and Nicolas. It was only what I could see when I closed my eyes: blackness.

“Nicolas?” I called into the dark.

“Emmelina!” His rapid footsteps echoed in the dream space, then his brawny form emerged from the shadows. His dark green eyes shone with worry, his short black hair tousled. “Thank the gods, you’re alive!” A smile spread across his handsome red-brown face when he spotted me. We sprinted towards each other, each step crossing hundreds of miles in the real world — at least, that’s how it always felt to me. We embraced and held each other tightly for a dozen heartbeats while I stared in wonder at my completely human arm. I was myself there, and I prayed I would be myself when I woke up. Nicolas broke the embrace first, looked me over, and placed his hand on my cheek. The contact felt a little like a cool pressure, no sense of texture or warmth, like every touch in the dream space. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” he asked, searching my eyes.

“Yes, I’m okay,” I fibbed, “and I’m only a little hurt. The road has been hard.”

“I’m so sorry.” He held me again in that cool embrace. I buried my face against his chest and tried to take what comfort I could from the contact. “I should not have let my uncle talk me out of sending my own people to bring you here.”

“It’s okay, Nicolas,” I assured him. “I’ve had quite an adventure. Being kidnapped, killing the kidnappers, escaping the dragons that ate all my guards, and I learned how to catch fish with my bare hands.” More like bear paws, but that wasn’t a necessary detail.

He looked devastated when he pulled away. “You must be … I don’t know,” he seemed to struggle to find the word he wanted, “heartsick, after all that. You say you killed your kidnappers?”

“Not directly,” I admitted sheepishly. “But I’m on my way to you again.”

Nicolas smiled, resolve flashing in his eyes. “How can I help you?”

“I’m not sure.” I frowned a little. “I hired some mercenaries. They’re good elves, maybe a little rough, but valiant! And my guardian is still watching over me, along with my maids. I wouldn’t have made it even this far without them, Nicolas.”

After a momentary, thoughtful pause, Nicolas nodded. “Ask them if they think there’s anything I can do to support them. We can meet here again tomorrow night.”

“I haven’t been sleeping well on the road,” I admitted. “But I’ll do my best.”

“Do you know where you are? Just in case I don’t hear from you, I’d like a place to start looking.”

Everything I’d been through made me paranoid, and my gut told me to keep our whereabouts to myself until I could talk to the others. Then I remembered the name of the next nearest town not along our route, but close enough he could work his way to Dulhal if something did happen. The names were even similar enough that one could understand mixing them up. “We should be in Haldul tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” He pressed a chaste kiss on my lips then looked at me, his brow knotted over worried eyes. “I really can’t wait to do that for real.”

My heart thrummed in my chest, longing for that contact along with him. “Goodnight, my love,” I gave him another kiss that just felt like nothing because of the damn dream space—I was thoroughly tired of just feeling the dream space. Then warmth blossomed against my lips, soft and pleasantly dewy. Startled by the contact, I pulled away. Glancing up, I saw his green eyes glint with pleasant surprise before the dream space fell away.

The connection was gone.

I settled back into the depths of my otherwise dreamless sleep.

Ozanna

Beside me, Emma stirred and cuddled closer, whimpering. I stroked her furry back and shushed her.

“It’s ok, Emma. Everything will be okay,” I said, my voice thick with sleep.

“It doesn’t feel that way right now,” Emma lamented, trembling in my arms.

“It always feels like that before everything turns out okay.” It made some sort of sense, though maybe not well said. I wasn’t entirely awake.

“I talked to my Duke last night.”

My eyes shot open wide at that, only to find another surprise mere inches from my face. “Emma! You have a nose and mouth!”

My words startled Eve and Judith awake. The older woman didn’t bounce out of the bed they shared as gracefully as her daughter, but she was on her feet quickly. Eve squealed with joy when she saw Emma. She scurried over to the princess. They embraced and started squealing together. I sighed and tossed a blanket over the noisy pair then warned Judith to cover up. I didn’t care that I was only in my underclothes. The girls’ racket was bound to bring the elves through the door with their swords. Before Lobikno and Lhoris could break it down, I reached for the door handle. They barreled through before I could open it completely, almost sending me toppling.

“Emma! Eve! You keep yourselves under that blanket and don’t look!” ordered Judith.

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