A collision with a wooden floorboard was enough to jolt me awake, coaxing a groan from my throat as I rubbed the pain from my nose. A twisted blanket wove itself around my legs, and I quickly fought to free myself from the restrictive fabric before clambering to my feet, the details of my unexpected dream starting to solidify in my mind.
Tobias had reached me, ushering with him a warning that tainted any joy brought by his presence. What’s more, he reignited my fears whether or not the solution given by the Sleeper would truly wake him. Also, if this Umbral entity was working in the background to prevent it, what more could be done? I reached into my pocket, pulling out the folded sheet of paper I’d received from the Sleeper. It seemed almost hopeless now.
The door to the washroom opened, and Cirian stopped short in the doorway, spotting me. He was once again wrapped in the silken blue robe, his hair pulled back from his angular face.
“Ah, you’re awake. It’s almost first light.”
“Cirian,” I started, grabbing the pile of my discarded clothes as I moved toward him.
He held up a hand, and I halted in place, moving no closer.
“You don’t have to apologize,” he said. “We both shared claims last night that I’m certain we regret, so I think it wise to let it settle for a while before we?—”
“First off, I have nothing to apologize for,” I interrupted, irritation prevalent in my tone. “Second, there are more important things to worry about?—”
“Right, like how we’re about to be late to meet with Sancha,” Cirian countered, moving to the wardrobe beside his bed and pulling it open. “You should really get cleaned up.”
“Forget that for a moment, there’s something we need to discuss?—”
“Like what, exactly? I think you made your stance abundantly clear last night, so there’s no need for us to continue that conversation right now. Her Eminence is waiting.”
“But that’s not what I?—”
“It’s fine, Bast. You can just continue about, operating as a one-man militia, doing whatever it is you wish, without thought of others. And I will stop deluding myself into believing that there’s anything between us other than some ill-fated, glowing string that I’ve used to convince myself means that there’s anything more than?—”
“Can you stop and listen for a gods’ damn moment? Tobias spoke to me last night.”
Slowly, the door of the wardrobe closed, revealing Cirian’s skeptical expression. “What are you talking about?”
“He came into my dream,” I explained.
Cirian’s incredulity only deepened at that.
“And what? He told you that you were choosing the right thing by trusting this Sleeper and the spellwork that he’s given you? How awfully convenient.”
“I’m serious,” I argued. “It was undoubtedly him. He came with a warning. One important enough that he had to project himself into my dream.”
“What warning?”
I relayed what little detail Tobias was able to give me during the dream.
“The Umbral,” Cirian repeated. “I’ve not heard hide nor hair of this entity in all my years of teachings from the Church. Are you sure this isn’t some elaborate fabrication of your dreaming?”
“I don’t normally dream,” I admitted. “So no, I don’t think it coincidence. Somehow, my subconscious knew that Tobias was reaching out to me through the Ether. That he would only be able to infiltrate my dream if there was one in which to do it.”
“So, what do you propose we do about it?” Cirian questioned, huffing a sigh of frustration. “Tobias obviously trusts you with this information. Why would he bring it to you and not me or Azrael?”
“Is that another tinge of jealousy I hear, oh great Acolyte?”
“It is an annoyance that Tobias would choose to confide in someone else,” he clarified. “Especially if that someone is a Reviled with a penchant for keeping secrets.”
“Ah, there’s the crux of it. You think because I am a Reviled, that I must have some predetermined inclination to deception, is that it? Gods, Cirian, I knew that you were naïve, but I had harbored hope that you’d at least deny the prejudice of your position.”
Cirian recoiled at that, but the flames of my anger spurred me further.
“The truth of the matter is that I have kept nothing of importance from you. And as time wears on, I realize that perhaps I have entrusted you with too much. It is a mistake that I will not be making again.”
Cirian let out a shuddered exhale. “Bast, wait, let me explain?—”
