Page 72 of One Last Wish

“We don’t have time to discuss that right now. Come on, I’ll project us. We’ll be early for work now.” He made another dark whirlpool similar to last night. This time when I took his hand, I wasn’t scared.

The whirlpool dropped us at the back of an alley, next to Bookends. “I’m starting to realise why you were never late for work,” I murmured with a smile.

“It’s the fastest way to travel.” Darce moved, taking my hand in his. I frowned, looking at our linked fingers. Since when was he all about skin contact? “I might have bent Theo’s mind to suggest that you and I are dating now.”

“Oh!”

“It seems the obvious choice to get everyone off our backs.” It made sense, but I had no idea what Darce and I were. We had a lot to discuss, including my dream last night. I needed to find out who Charna was and if Dylin was the word for what I was. “Alora, where did your mind go?” Darce asked, snapping me from my thoughts.

“Sorry, my mind slipped back to last night.”

“Mmm...which part? I hope it was thehoursthat you were naked and being teased by my fingers and tongue.” I was blushing by the time we reached Bookends.

Theo arrived a few minutes after we’d opened the store.

“Morning, Alora. Darce. How was yoursurprisedate last night?” He was looking at me with such indifference that I frowned at him.

“It was wonderful, thanks,” Darce called back. “Alora has agreed to spend Christmas with me. I told you I’d wear her down.”

“When did I agree to this?”

“After your third orgasm last night,” Darce smirked, pecking my lips. Okay, that might have been true.

“I’ll go put the lights on upstairs and restock the shelves,” I told Darce and Theo. Everything had changed in the blink of an eye and I could hardly keep up. Daisy walked in, all sunshine and Christmas cheer. With a quick wave to her from the staircase, I continued my way up the stairs. When I touched the wooden banister, an image flashed in my mind.

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IWAS IN A BEAUTIFULlibrary, not too different from Bookends, but on a much larger scale. The books were ancient, all bound in different coloured leathers. The skylight stained glass picture above was two blistering, giant yellow suns that swirled in a never ending pattern. Not too unlike my own markings. Where was this place, and why did it feel so familiar?

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“HEY.” DARCE CAME UPbehind me, so I shook my head to clear the image from my mind. “You blanked out for a few minutes. Are you okay?”

“I’ve been in a place like this before, but the skylight was two burning suns.”

“You saw the library?” Darce gasped. “Alora, that’s incredible. Your mind is advancing faster than we thought.”

“Where is this library? The books were reallyold.”

“It’s a place that always felt like home to you.”

“What does Dylin mean?” He froze beside me. “Last night, I dreamt of a dark figure that tried to kill me. She said she knew I was Dylin.”

“You don’t need to worry about all of this right now. Allow yourself time to remember. Bombarding your mind with everything all at once is dangerous.”

“Her name was Charna. You were meant to be hers.”

“No one owns meormy choices!” Darce spat. I recoiled a little at his outburst. “Sorry, Charna wasn’t a conversation I thought we’d be having first.” His face softened. “What else happened in this dream of yours?” We had moved to the side of the fantasy section where no one could see us.

“She explained that I was defenceless because I hadn’t come into my power yet.” Darce ran his hand through my hair, almost as if to shake off the memory I was explaining to him. “I must have been staying with you. I have no idea where, but you were sending me back home.”

“I was doing it to keep you safe.”

“Are you telling me these dreams wererealevents?” Darce nodded. “This is what you mean about my mind breaking down. Am I starting to remember things because you came back into my life?”

“I’ve never been out of your life, Alora.”

“Why am I remembering the moment you started to show up then?”

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