Page 33 of Storm of Summer (Wild Haven 3)

Everyone standing around the kitchen jerks back a little.

“I didn’t know that.”

I can practically see the wheels turning in everyone’s heads as they try to recall every time their blood might have been shed or used against us.

“We can throw it in the fire when we’re done,” Lena says.

“Okay. Good information to know.” Miri frowns again, looking a little uncertain at this new piece of information. Meanwhile, I’m thinking I need to bleach the floors of my bar again, since Archer dumped a lot of blood there.

“I guess, on that note, let’s get started.” Miri bends down and pulls out a book from a bag sitting on one of the chairs around the island. She opens it to a marked page, smoothing her hand over the paper.

Zara doesn’t hesitate, pricking her finger with the needle. Blood wells and she turns her finger, holding it over the jar. The drop hangs on for an eternity and then finally falls into the glass. The mud swirls, the colors shifting and shimmering, making me think of one of those kids' water wiggly toys. It takes a full minute before the swirling stops and the color settles into a vibrant purple.

Lena pulls the book toward her, her finger running down the page. “Purple is the color of the seer. Those with this type of magic are adept at premonitions. The especially powerful can pull visions from objects and dream walk.”

“What does that mean?” Ruby pulls the book toward her, but Lena pushes her hand away.

“That’s all it says.”

“Can you touch someone’s stuff and see what they’ve been doing? Dude, stay away from Ezra’s bottle of lotion.” Ruby makes a scared face.

“I can hear you,” Ezra shouts from out on the patio.

“How in the hell can you hear us?” I call back, sharing the question that everyone else seems curious about as well.

“Seems like his hearing is a bit selective.” Miri murmurs with a lifted brow when he doesn’t respond.

“The premonitions I already guessed. I’ve always gotten that sense when something was about to happen.” Zara sucks on her finger. I know she’s not trying to be seductive, but I almost pull it out of her mouth and stick my own finger in there. Christ.

“I’ve never dream walked before.”

“Do you know what that is?” Ruby asks as she starts to riffle around Ezra’s cupboards, humming when she finds a bag of Reese's Pieces.

“It’s basically what it sounds like. You can walk in someone else’s dreams. As a dream walker, you can see their dreams and also influence what they think about while sleeping.”

“Like Freddy Kruger?” Miri cringes.

“Who?”

“Never mind.” Miri rolls her eyes and waves at Zara to continue. “So not important.”

“I’ve only heard of powerful Fae being able to dream walk. The Fae are all about secrets and ferreting out those hidden items from others to bring them down. By controlling a dream, you could, in theory, guide the dream to make them think about those secrets and share them with you.”

“Do you think that’s something you can do?” Lena asks.

“I don’t know. I never have before. I don’t even know how you would go about doing it.”

“Oh, you just said the magic words for Lena.” I lean down, speaking quietly next to Zara’s ear. Goosebumps break out over her shoulders. Would it be so bad if I let my lips follow their path, from her neck down her back?

“Magic?” Zara replies, sounding breathless.

“He just means I love to research stuff. I’ll see if I can find any information on dream walking. Between my collection of books and the library at Wild Cottage, we might be able to uncover something.” Lena smirks at me, her eyes traveling between me and Zara. The little shit.

“Enough dragging your feet Rhys, it’s your turn.” Lena slides the other jar of goop toward me.

Time to get this done with. Picking up the other needle, I jab my middle finger. Lena’s not wrong. I’ve been avoiding doing this for months now. Before, there seemed to be a million things holding me back. Not wanting to acknowledge my magic, wanting to forget about the existence of the Axis, fear about what I might become if I let myself embrace magic. Those concerns haven’t completely disappeared, but they’ve faded a lot.

Archer and Lena bonded, and I don’t see any signs of darkness creeping into them. The same with Davis and Miri. Plus, it’s as if something has clicked into place with Zara’s appearance. With her here, it feels right to do this. To learn about what I’m capable of doing. Maybe I needed her here for that to be the case, or maybe it’s because of the fierce need I have to protect her. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. I’m ready to know.

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