Reva’s busy snooping through the collection of glasses borrowed from the ship and the potions I have neatly labelled. They’re all currently lined up on the floor since I don’t have any shelves. She snorts and sips at my drink before gagging slightly.
“Ugh, that’s disgusting.”
“Does your bear have no hands either?” I ask Torin.
“Paws,” Torin says with a smirk. “And I don’t know. I haven’t shifted since.”
“Too much magic,” I mutter. “Can you pass me that blue potion over there?”
Reva grabs it and hands it over before joining us on the floor. She sips my drink again before handing it back to me with a shudder. “I don’t know why I keep drinking it, it’s so horrible.”
I take a sip of my own and wind up mimicking her shudder. She’s right, it really is terrible. I then pour a little of the blue liquid onto Torin and watch his hand shimmer into view for a moment before disappearing again.
“Too much magic,” I repeat before scratching my cheek and somehow tipping some of the blue stuff onto myself. “Oopsie daisy.”
“I think it might be time for you to get to bed,” Torin says. He eyes the pile of blankets in the corner. “Have you been sleeping in here?”
“Only some nights,” I reply. “Most nights I don’t sleep at all. Someone always seems to fall down the stairs in the middle of the night.”
Or the nightmares come, and there’s zero chance of me sleeping beyond a handful of hours.
“Come on, we can talk more about this tomorrow.” Reva gets to her feet and holds her hand out to me, which I take.
Part of me howls in protest. I want to watch Reva dance and laugh and be carefree, like she deserves. I want to stay up and chat with the others now that I can do more than nod back.
However, a bigger part of me wants to pass out like I’m dead and wake up naturally. So I find myself being shepherded along with Reva’s arm linked through mine. It sounds like the party is still going strong downstairs, judging by the whoops and yet more raucous laughter that echoes up the stairs. They lead me to a room I don’t recognise that smells incredibly comforting, and I find my shoulders loosening as I suck in a deep breath of the scent.
“Is this—?”
“My room,” Reva says. “Is that weird? I probably should have asked first. It’s just... I don’t think I’m in any state to head back to the party either.”
“You want to share a room with me?” I ask, barely able to believe it. I’ve spent so many days thinking about her, pining after her, hoping we might find a way back.
The bed’s big. Big enough for us both. And just seeing it and being inside Reva’s room, with her clothes and her scent all around me, has some of the dread that comes with the thought of sleeping fading away.
I kick off my shoes and eagerly crawl into bed with Reva climbing in beside me while Torin clambers in on the other side. With all three of us packed in like this, the bed is not quite big enough but Reva lets out a soft giggle that lights up the deepest, loneliest parts of my soul.
I fight to stay awake. I want to stay awake. But the tension in my body fades away, and I find I can’t win against it.
AND WHEN I WAKE UP, gasping from the same nightmare where I’m trapped in the basement with nothing but rats for company, I’m not alone.
A warm hand moves through my hair, gently squeezing my sweaty neck. Soft words fill my ears, even though I can’t quite fight through the haze of fear to understand them.
I suck in breath after breath, trying to force my racing heart under control.
“It’s all right. You’re all right.”
They’re the same words I remember saying to Reva weeks ago when she was trapped in her own nightmare. Then there’s another, larger hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently.
All around me are gentle touches and comfort. And they’re enough to send me back into a deep sleep.
And when the nightmares fade away, I wake up with something other than terror and hopelessness filling my body.
The spark of an idea.
I might know how to help Reva and Torin too.
First, though, I need to find Jack.
