Page 76 of Skalterra By Nightmare
He remained silent, but leaned into me, and we stared into the fire together.
When the bonfire fizzled into dying embers and the inky dark of night had fallen overhead, spotted in an array of stars that made me dizzy if I stared upwards too long, Riley’s friends and Sabrina grabbed their things.
I stared at the mouth of the wooded path that wound its way back up to the parking lot, and when Xander told us there would be room in his car for us, Sabrina, and the boards if we wanted a ride to Liam’s car, I held my breath.
“That’s okay,” Liam insisted. “You guys head back. Wren and I will go back the way we came.”
He waved them away as he dragged our paddleboard back to the water.
“Are you sure?” I whispered. “It’s late, and you’re tired.”
He looked up at me from where he bent over to fasten the velcro leash of the board around his ankle.
“Are you okay with the woods?” he asked seriously. When I couldn’t bring myself to answer, he smiled. “The water is beautiful at night. You’re going to love it.”
And he was right.
19. Fluid Dynamics
Liam didn’t bring up graduation night, Linsey, or forests anymore, and I didn’t mention his cousin Riley unless someone else brought him up first. There was a new understanding between us, and I started to look forward to him bringing me my daily bagel sandwich as the start of his shifts.
Gams noticed our growing friendship, and took it upon herself to crawl out of her workshop for forty minutes each day to watch the store so Liam and I could start having our lunch breaks together. Liam came to every lunch prepared with fresh mock-interview questions for me. They ranged from practical to unhinged. I’d be answering a question about my graduate school plans, and then he’d smack me with a question asking me to determine which volcano would win in a Battle Royale style fight.
Meanwhile, it took Galahad three days to summon me back to Skalterra.
He pulled me unceremoniously through whatever veil existed between our two realms as I was brushing my teeth in my room. The taste of mint evaporated from my mouth, and I materialized on a wooden deck.
Wind pulled at my blue hair, and I stumbled to catch my footing as the floor rolled beneath me. Steep cliffs rose up on either side of me, lit by the gentle red glow of the steamed Skal escaping from twin smokestacks that towered overhead.
I was on a steamboat.
“Fascinating.” Tamora’s cool voice greeted me, and I found the Baron leaning against the bronze railing of the upper deck, looking down at me. Red light from orbs of skalflame that floated around her sent fire-like highlights through her hair. Her red curls hung free, bouncing around shoulders left bare by a blouse that seemed to barely be holding itself up. “So she comes with blue hair every time? That’s a bit unusual, isn’t it?”
“It’s what she likes,” Galahad grunted. He stood somewhere behind Tamora, obscured by the lip of the deck. I backpedaled to get a better view of him. His hands were shoved in the pockets of his duster jacket, and a trace of concern marred the irritated look on his face.
“What’s happening?” I asked. The river was wide enough to fit another two or three boats across its width, but the cliffs towering on either side of us made me feel claustrophobic and trapped. Twin crescent moons winked down at me from between the dark lines of the cliffs.
“I’m taking you and your friends to Riverstead, as promised.” Tamora smiled sweetly. “We’ve got another few days, of course. Traveling upriver can be a real slog. I thought poor Galahad was going to be laid up the entire trip, but look! He rallied just for us and managed to bring you across the Rift.”
“Where’s Fana?” I looked at Galahad as I said it. The deck where I stood was barren, lined with a low bronze rail. A set of bronze double doors led into the steamboat’s main cabin, and a stairway on either side of me rose to meet the upper deck. “And the others?”
“Fana is safe, don’t you worry. You’re off-duty tonight. Galahad brought you here for me.” Tamora shook her hair out. I didn’t like what she was saying, and I definitely didn’t like the way she was staring at me, like I was some sort of bug she was about to pin to a board and study. “Lucid Nightmares are exceptionally rare. Those thatdocome through Skalterra usually have enough sense to keep what they are secret. They’re illegal across all seven provinces, and the other night, you made it clear why.”
“And the others?” I was still looking at Galahad.
“They’re resting.” Something about his frown told me he didn’t want me here, which could only mean Tamora had forced him to summon me. The red of the floating lights made him look all the more serious.
“Tell me, Nightmare,” Tamora purred, “what did you say your name was?”
Galahad gave me the tiniest shake of his head, but I didn’t need the reminder.
“Blue.” I grinned up at Tamora. The insincere expression gave me a small hit of false confidence, and I vaguely wondered if that’s why Liam was always smiling despite everything he’d been through.
“Sure.” Her smile tightened into an impatient grimace. “Well,Blue, this boat ride has been ever so boring. I haven’t been properly entertained since you showed off in my court three nights ago. I was wondering if you could give us a demonstration?”
I looked to Galahad again for guidance, but he was passive and unreadable.
“But I hurt Galahad last time.”
