Page 130 of Riftborne
The hisses became louder. Shadows trailed back as far as I could see. My heart began to race furiously in my chest.
I shotout of bed and gasped for air.
The Wraiths.
They were coming.
Laryk stirred, reaching for me.
“Wake up, the Wraiths are going to Stormshire. Now,” I nearly shouted, throwing the covers off of us. “You need to tell someone. The factions need to be alerted. I don’t know how much time we have.” I frantically searched the ground for my clothes.
“Fia, what’s going on?” Laryk asked, standing up and walking towards me, confusion etched into his features.
“I saw them in my dream. The Wraiths. They are going to Stormshire. Right now,” I urged, pulling on my trousers.
“You’re sure about this?” His eyes were wide open now.
“I guess I can’t be sure, but are we really willing to take the risk?” I begged.
“Stay here. I’m going to alert the other Generals. We’ll see if there have been any disturbances at the border.”
I nodded, handing him his shirt.
“I saw them passing some ruin… a tower with a crescent moon-shaped window.”
Laryk pulled me in, kissing my forehead before storming out of the room.
I sat on the bed, still shaken from the dream. My mind was stuck on my friends. I pulled myself into a ball and tried to steady my breath as I awaited Laryk’s return.
I couldn’t tell how much time passed before the door creaked open. I shot out of bed as Laryk rounded the corner.
“There have been no disturbances at the border.”
“But I saw them,” I said, furrowing my brow. “Are we sure? What if they slipped past somehow?” I crossed my arms.
“The entire border has been crawling with Base Guards since the last attack. For miles and miles. They would have been noticed,” he said calmly, stepping in my direction.
“But the ruin, I saw it so clearly,” I said, shaking my head. None of this made sense.
“Crescent Tower is too far south. It wouldn’t make sense for them to be there,” he assured me. “But we still have troops stationed in that area along the border.” He took my wrist in his hand and pulled me against him.
“I don’t know…” I murmured. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something terrible was going to happen.
“Perhaps it was a memory. Not from tonight,” he whispered, pulling me back into bed.
It was possible. My dream about the river was clearly someone’s memory. I exhaled deeply. Laryk was right. If there were no disturbances at the border, then we were safe. For now.
I tried my best to convince myself, but the dark presence in my mind remained.
My eyes closed once again, and I forced myself back to sleep.
CHAPTER 47
Consciousness drifted over me,and I reached out, my heart sinking as my hand grasped at the emptiness where Laryk should have been. I was alone. Glimmers of light peeked in from behind the drapes. How long had I been asleep?
My feet found the floor and I stretched, the blanket slipping down my arms. I yanked it tighter around myself and marched across the room, flinging open the curtains with a flourish. Late morning sun flooded in, momentarily blinding me.
As I collected my garments from the floor, all I could think about was how they got there. The memory of Laryk's stormy entrance into the courtyard played on repeat in my mind. Reflecting on the memory now, knowing he’d been riddled with jealousy, pleased me more than it should have. Shivers ran up my spine as my imagination became a bit too realistic.
