Page 145 of Akarnae

“Dix,” Alex repeated. “I like it.”

D.C. snorted. “I’m so pleased I have your approval. Now hurry up and introduce yourself.”

Alex groaned. “You can’t be serious.”

“Humour me.”

“Fine. I’m Alexandra Rose Jennings. Good enough?”

“No,” D.C. said, frowning. “You didn’t tell me anything about yourself.”

“Youalreadyknow about me!” Alex said, but at the look on her roommate’s face she huffed and elaborated. “I’m originally from Freya and I’m Chosen by the Library. Happy?”

D.C. smiled. “Immensely. And I’m very pleased to meet you.”

“You’re impossible,” Alex said, but she was smiling too.

They talked long into the night, finally having the chance to share their secrets with someone who understood the importance of keeping them. The subject of giftings eventually came up, and D.C. was amazed when Alex explained her newfound ability and how it had saved them from Aven. For someone in D.C.’s position where power-plays and manipulations were all a part of court intrigue, Alex’s gift was highly enviable.

Alex herself thought the same about D.C.’s gift.

“I dream about the future,” her roommate said. “They’re real dreams, of things that will actually happen.”

“You’re psychic?” Alex asked, slightly awed and a little sceptical.

“Not psychic. More like prophetic, I guess,” D.C. replied. “Unlike most gifts, I can’t turn mine on and off at will. The real dreams aren’t very common, but when they happen, they almost always come true. My gift also allows me to revisit the dreams over and over again if I want. Sometimes I get more information, but more often than not I just see the same images repeated.”

Alex was amazed by some of the examples D.C. gave her, and one in particular that occurred over the Kaldoras holidays where she’d dreamt of being abducted in a dark place and made to walk through a corridor of doors before being tied to Alex. That was why she’d grilled Alex on her return to the academy after the Gala, because she’d known something bad was going to happen to them. A voice in the dream had repeated the words ‘I haven’t found it yet!’ over and over again, which was how she’d been able to assure Alex in the Library that letting Aven through the first doorway wasn’t going to do any immediate damage. She hadn’t dreamt anything new after the imprisonment dream, despite trying to revisit the image on numerous occasions—all of which had only showed her the same events and nothing more.

“Incredible,” Alex said, before they moved to a less serious topic.

Hours went by while they caught up on a year’s worth of knowing each other, and soon they were slurring their words together. It was no surprise to Alex when she woke in the morning and found D.C. still curled up at the end of her bed, both of them having fallen asleep mid-conversation.

“Wake up, Dix,” she said.

“Wha—?” D.C. mumbled as Alex nudged her with her foot.

“We’ve got to get up if we want breakfast before classes,” Alex mumbled, yawning.

“Mmkay.” D.C. curled up even tighter.

Alex kicked the other girl off her bed, much to the red-head’s displeasure.

“Hey!” D.C. cried. She raised herself up from the ground and delivered her best quality glare.

“That doesn’t work anymore,” Alex said. “I know you don’t mean it now.”

“That’s what you think,” D.C. grumbled, but she couldn’t keep the smile off her face. Their newfound friendship was still such a novelty for them both.

“Come on, I’m starving,” Alex said. She hadn’t eaten real food in four days.

They quickly got ready and headed to the food court. Alex half expected everyone to fall silent at the sight of them entering the room together—their enmity had been fairly obvious to everyone—but no one paid them any attention.

“Alex! D.C.! Over here!”

She smiled at Jordan, grateful that he’d included her roommate in his invitation.

“Are you ready for this?” Alex asked the other girl.

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