Page 148 of Tempest of Wrath and Vengeance

She slid her gaze back to him. “I don’t need blood.”

“I assumed not,” he said, his tone a touch softer, and to her surprise, he lowered to the ground beside her. She laid back once more, and he did the same, propping one of his hands behind his head.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I know you’re not used to it, but this is called having a conversation.”

“Oh my gods,” she muttered, shoving at him with her foot.

She heard the small huff she could only assume was the closest he’d ever get to laughter. Turning her head, she asked, “What do you like to do for fun?”

He was clearly surprised by the question, and it took a minute before he said with a sigh. “It’s been so long, I don’t remember.”

“Me too,” she whispered.

She wasn’t sure what to do when she felt his fingers graze over hers. Her breath stalled, her heart rate picking up, but he didn’t do it again.

They lay like that for several minutes, and she was the one to speak again when she said, “I know this is going to sound a little insane, but just bear with me for a minute, okay?”

He muttered something under his breath that she couldn’t hear, but then he said, “All right. Let’s hear it.”

“I have dreams or visions or whatever,” she began, not even sure how to start this.

“I’m aware.”

“And sometimes you are in them,” she went on in a rush. “Not just as part of the visions, butinthem. Like you’re watching them with me, and a few times recently you’ve been interacting with them. Do you…”

Gods, she sounded more than a little mad.

When she didn’t go on, Luka turned to look at her. “Tessa, if you’re asking if I remember being pulled into your visions, the answer is yes. I didn’t know ifyouremembered that.”

“Wait, really?” she asked, pushing up to a sitting position to see him better.

Luka nodded. “The first time it happened, I didn’t know what to think or do. But when it happened again, I started trying to figure out how and when it was going to happen.”

“And?”

He shrugged. “The last time was when you slept in my room with me. The last time was also the first time someone didn’t pull me out of it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The first time it happened, a female showed up. She asked how I got there.”

“Howdidyou get there?” Tessa asked.

He shrugged again, still lying on the ground. “No idea. She asked if you called me there, and then she shoved me out of the dream. Every time since then, she’s shown up and shoved me out. Until the last time.”

“The one with the dragons,” Tessa clarified.

There was a small delay before he said, “Yeah. That one.”

“And you don’t know how you get in them?”

He sighed, pushing up to a sitting position and then getting to his feet. “No, but I can tell Theon about it. See if he knows anything.”

She tipped her head back to see him. “Why would Theon know anything about this?”

Holding his hand out to her, he said, “Because Theon is very well read. He is a wealth of knowledge, both useful and frivolous.” Slipping her hand into his, he pulled her to her feet. “If he doesn’t know something about this, he will likely know where to look to find answers.”

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