Page 61 of Victoria's Discovery

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The doorto their rooms hissed open in time for a whimper to reach his ears. Heart stuttering in his chest, Thorn rushed forward, fangs bared, eyes scanning furiously for whatever soon-to-be-dead fool had caused her to make such a sound. He would flay their skin from their bones. He would watch them drown in their own blood. He would…

She was dreaming.

Wrath turned to distress in the span of a single heartbeat, freezing his feet in place for a handful of seconds.

No. That was not a dream. His own extensive familiarity with being haunted during sleep made recognition of her nightmare easy.

Moving again, quietly now, so as not to startle her awake, Thorn gently sat by her side on the newly repaired bed. He wanted, badly, to shake her awake, to free her from whatever demons plagued her dreams, but he knew from experience that was oft more harm than help.

How many times had he bloodied Thegan’s nose when they were younger because his friend had startled him from a nightmare? Too many to count. Of course, that didn’t stop him from doing it again the next time. Or the next. Damned fool was too good a friend to give up, something for which Thorn would always be grateful.

“Easy,mín værling—‘my heartmate.’” The word slipped out without thought, startling him with how natural they felt on his lips.

That was not an endearment his people used lightly, yet had he not called her so even when they were still prisoners on the ship? Had his heart known from the first that he was meant for her and he’d just been the fool trying to pretend otherwise?

Another whimper, soft and fearful, awoke her small beast from his nest of pillows. Much like Thorn, he popped up, teeth bared, eyes scanning for whomever caused his mistress distress. Being the only one near, the animal zeroed in on Thorn.

He had the grace to look confused but, loyal little beast that he was, flared his wings wide, oversized ears tall and stiff, his body flashing a mottled red and orange in warning. Crouching down, he prepared to fly at Thorn’s face claws first.

“Easy,” he rumbled, raising his hands to show he was not the cause of Vee’s fear. Confused again, Snitch slowly tucked his wings in and turned, raising a small hand to pat at her face. Grunting a denial, Thorn shook his head and continued speaking to her softly, “You are not alone, my Vee.”

Her soft cries tore at him. Each felt like a punch to the gut. Heart hurting, he reached out and tenderly brushed the sweat-dampened curls off her forehead and hummed the melody she oft sang to herself when lost in thought. He did not know all the words, but he’d memorized the tune.

He heard Thegan and Vi’kail wake and join him by the bed but ignored their low, worried voices. Eventually, her thrashing stopped, and her whimpers quieted.

And then, she woke up.

Eyes still hazy with sleep, she spotted him looming over her, screamed, and promptly tried to knock his head off with a pillow.

Thorn did not mind. He understood that sometimes dreams clung to the mind. Keeping his voice low and soothing, he spoke to her, telling her who he was, that she was safe, that all was well. Her beast joined him, chittering nonsensical things, tone soft and thrumming.

Vee blinked and flopped back, rubbing her eyes. “Sorry, Thorn. I didn’t realize it was you. You okay?” she asked, voice hoarse, and reached to bring Snitch to her chest.

“It would take more than a pillow to harm me,” he assured, smiling wryly as he eyed the beast’s position against her with no small amount of jealousy. “Do you wish to share your dreams, Vee?”

“I was on the ship, but it was nothing like what really happened. All the animals got loose and were hunting me, and the fishes were stabbing me with needles and stuff, and then I was about to die in the crash.” She stopped to yawn and rub her eyes again. “I’m kinda surprised it took this long for everything to hit me.”

Thorn was not surprised. She was incredibly resilient and adaptable. Add in how busy she’d been almost from the moment they arrived at the complex, and Thorn thought it perfectly reasonable her mind had taken this long to begin working through the stress.

* * *

Victoria staredblearily at the ceiling. The last three days had been a whirlwind of meetings with Aria and her other Generals, as she called them, trying to think of anything and everything they needed to do to keep the complex and everyone in it safe.

Patching the breach in the wall, continuing the intake interviews, selecting sentries to keep watch, and working on the spaceship had taken precedence for most everyone, but that meant Aria had entrusted Victoria to handle the complaints, squabbles, and cultural…intricaciesthat came with having so many different species of people housed in the same complex.

As busy as her days were, and as out of her depth as she felt ninety percent of the time, she actually really enjoyed it. Kix had been right. As much as she’d doubted herself, so far, she had an idea to fix all the problems she’d encountered. With every issue she solved, she felt her confidence grow, felt herself beginning to let go of all the negative things her mother said about her, the things she’d eventually started to believe and say to herself.

Which reminded her…

“My mother was in the dream, too. And I think I was in that horrible house of hers for a minute? Dreams are weird.”

Thorn seemed to straighten slightly where he sat beside her and all three guys exchanged a look. They’d been doing that a lot lately. Victoria thought it was adorable and it made her happy to see their friendship growing.

“You should let your mind focus on happier things as you fall back to slumber,” Thorn murmured lowly. “Think about your perfect house. Describe it to me.”

Seemed odd, but Victoria shrugged and started talking. As she spoke, her blinks got longer and longer and her words slower.

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