“Of course I did.”
He knelt beside her, brushing her hair away from her facewith hands too gentle for someone so young.
“They were wrong about you, Allie. You’re not a monster.”
He wrapped his little arms around her, holding her close.
“I’ll always look out for you, Allie. Always, no matter what. I’ll keep you safe. I promise.”
“I love you, big brother,” she said, wiping her tears.
“I love you more. All the way to the moon, Allie Belly.”
I didn’t breathe.
Didn’t speak.
They couldn’t see me. Couldn’t hear me.
I was just… watching.
**
The dream shifted beneath my feet. The scene changed.
They were older now. Sitting at a small table in a quiet cabin, eating a simple meal of bread and soup.
I could hear a woman humming as she cooked at the stove.
I couldn’t see her face, but that song—
It felt familiar.
Thorne poked his tongue out at Allie. She giggled behind their father’s back.
Then she sent a small illusion—a rabbit, white and soft—hopping across the table toward Thorne’s plate.
It made him laugh.
The ground began to shake with thundering hooves.
I looked up.
Outside the window, like a wave of blood, came the Sentinels.
Their swords were high.
“No!” I tried to yell.
They couldn’t take them. I wouldn’t let them.
Then suddenly, I wasn’t watching from afar.
I was inside him. I was seeing through Thorne’s eyes as he rose, reaching for his blades.
He didn’t see me.
But the girl, Allie, did.
