Page 7 of Sergi
Sergi’s only response was a grunt. After centuries of their long friendship, Devon understood the non-verbal to mean it took Devon long enough to realize it.
A comfortable silence returned, and after several long minutes, Devon asked, “Have you heard any recent news about the Carpathian Mountains?”
Sergi strodein step with Devon, both eager to return to Devon’s office to review the journal and the notes Sergi had put together. Devon had pushed the morning meeting to after lunch, but when they arrived at Devon’s office, it wasn’t empty.
Cressa paced the room, clearly upset about something. Decker, who’d driven over before receiving the text about thepostponed meeting, sat on his usual stool, leaning back against the bar as he watched Cressa, an amused expression on his face.
“What’s all this?” Devon asked as he dropped into his chair.
Sergi glared at Cressa. When she stuck her tongue out, he held back his smile. He wasn’t sure when it started, but they began challenging each other with the pettiest of games. His fallback was the one thing he knew irritated her the most—stare blankly at her for an uncomfortable length of time before turning to his tablet.
He held a deep respect for Cressa, who he considered to be Devon’s consort, but it wasn’t her relationship with his friend that earned Sergi’s favor. It was her loyalty and determination to never quit, like when she crawled along the training room floor and attempted to rise even when she knew she’d been beaten. She was a warrior on the battlefield. Yet, she was a human, dreamwalker or not, who was loud and pushed boundaries. She would never change, and Sergi came to terms with that. She enjoyed rattling others, so he considered it fair game to return the favor. Everyone needed a pastime.
Cressa ignored Sergi and shifted her gaze to Devon, exploding with hyper anxiety. “I remember something from when I was at Shadow Island.”
Sergi shifted in his seat and waited.
Devon glanced at Decker, who shrugged. So, she hadn’t shared it with the shifter. She’d been waiting for Devon. “Sit down and tell us.”
She paced for another minute before finding a chair but only perched on the edge as if ready to take flight, reminding Sergi of Bella and her need to be in constant motion. Her foot tapped with the energy roiling in her, but Devon’s calm tone soothed her. She blew out a long sigh, leaned back in her seat, and ran her fingers through her hair.
“It came in a dream, but it wasn’t a normal dream, and it wasn’t a dreamwalk. I’m not sure what it was. I was at dinner with Lorenzo and one of his business associates. If I had to guess, the vamp was a doctor or scientist of some sort.” She picked at the edge of her sweater. Her fingers found a loose yarn, and she began twisting it. “I was fully aware during the dream. I could smell the leftovers from dinner and the light scent of candles. The strange thing was that I couldn’t leave my seat, but I could move my arms and hands. When I called out, neither vamp seemed to hear me.”
“You’re sure this wasn’t a dreamwalk?” Devon had leaned back and was holding the white crystal that seemed to focus him.
“No.” She shrugged. “Although, I don’t remember dreamwalking in a past event. Only current or future ones.”
Devon turned the crystal, moving it from one hand to the next. “It makes sense you wouldn’t be able to change an event that already happened. What was so important about this dinner?”
“It was the discussion between Lorenzo and this other vamp. The guy had been anxious since he arrived. I assumed it was nervousness being around Lorenzo, but the man droned on about tests and statistics that bored me at the time. I barely listened to any of it and was relieved when Lorenzo dismissed me.”
Sergi met Devon’s glance. They had to be thinking the same thing. Did this have something to do with the lab?
“Your subconscious must have picked up on something for you to dream about it now.” Devon gripped the crystal and leaned forward, his forehead scrunched in thought.
She heaved a sigh and let her head fall back until she stared at the ceiling. “I don’t know. Now, talking about it out loud, it doesn’t seem very important.”
“Just tell us the first thing you remembered,” Devon encouraged.
These were the moments that defined Devon’s leadership skills. Sergi had seen it in his leader since their early days. Devon’s willingness to slow down and make the speaker feel at ease, gently luring the information out of them. He was using the same technique with Jasper in hopes of breaking Venizi’s hold over him.
“I woke to find myself at the dinner table. Dessert had just been served. I don’t remember specifics, even though the vamp couldn’t stop talking all through dinner. It upset Lorenzo, who kept trying to change the subject.”
“He didn’t want you to hear sensitive information.” Sergi almost grinned at Cressa’s immediate nod as she turned to him.
“Exactly. That was my thought during the dream. But I don’t remember it concerning me at the time. It was just before Lorenzo excused me that the vamp mentioned something about the tests being successful, but they required time for further refinements or something to that effect. He said they were close to field tests.”
“Dammit,” Decker swore.
“How can we be sure this dream is accurate?” Sergi asked. “Your subconscious could be adding false information based on our discussions about the blood results from Remus’s lab.”
She nodded, which surprised Sergi. He expected her to be frustrated by his question. Another example of her maturity since first arriving at the manor. “At first, I was positive, then I wasn’t so sure. Not until I discussed it with Colantha.”
“You spoke with her about this?” Devon asked.
“While you and Sergi were in the training room. She said dreamwalkers dream about past events like any other human, but she thought my experience, especially my ability to pick up smells, sounded odd.”
“When was this dinner in relation to when you first arrived on the island?” Sergi had a feeling he understood why this particular dream was different.
