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When I look up, there's an entire flock of them, like crows roosting.
They know you won't do anything, so they're coming out.
I turn to the person at my side. It's a small boy, one I don't recognize. His hair is a fuzzy pale blonde, his skin the same shade as mine. He looks down his nose at me, and that expression looks so, so familiar. I can't see his eyes because of the dream. His hair covers them, but something tells me I'd see the drakoni-gold swirling in their depths.
"Who are you?" I ask.
"You know who I am," he replies.
"No, I don't," I begin, but then I stop. He looks down his nose at me once more, and my mouth goes dry, even as more bugs fly onto the railings. They coat it now, and I can sense an oncoming darkness, something that lurks just beyond the railing. Something unseen, but just as unclean as it's always been. The child moves closer to me, putting his small hand in my own, and when he touches me, everything washes backward. The bugs disappear. The unclean feeling fades.
The child is keeping me safe.
"You know who I am," he says again, and smiles up at me.
A knot forms in my throat, because I do. I know who this is. "You're my son," I whisper. "Aren't you?"
He nods.
"Do you…have a name?"
"Arthromathan," he tells me proudly. "But you won't remember it. I'll tell you again when I'm born." He holds my hand tighter. "You have to help, Mama. If you don't, the others won't have a chance."
"What others?" I ask.
"The ones waiting to be born, of course. Can't you see them?" He gazes around us, staring up into the skies.
I look up, expecting to see bugs and monsters flooding the heavens, but there's nothing. Just gentle, puffy clouds and a pinkish purple sunset. My favorite. "I don't see anyone."
"They're there." He squeezes my hand. "But they won't have a chance to be born if it comes through."
"The thing in the Rift?"
He—Arthromathan, a fine, long name, Mhal would think—nods, his shaggy hair in his eyes. "You have to help the others first. Tell Papa. I tried, but he's all closed up like a fist. That's why I'm in your dream and not his."
"Okay," I say, fascinated. I stare down at the child holding my hand, wanting to memorize his face, his name, the sound of his voice, but all I get are vague feelings instead. Memories of things that haven't happened yet. Motions and habits, like when he gazes down his long nose at me. I want to memorize that, but even as I stare, I know I won't remember. I want to, but something tells me I won't. "It's nice to meet you," I tell Arthromathan, moving to stand next to him. I search his face, which seems fuzzy even now. What does one say to their child when they meet them for the first time? "I'm happy you came to me."
"I like your head, Mama. I hope I get to come again, but I might not." He beams up at me, a gap-toothed smile. "But I'll be back anyhow."
"I'll be here." I feel like crying when he pulls his hand out of mine. "Please don't go. Stay with me a little longer."
"I only got to come to tell you about the thing in the Rift," Arthromathan says. "You'll get your farm later, but for now, you have to fight."
I nod. "I understand."
He pulls away, then pauses. Arthromathan races back to me and flings his little arms around my shoulders, hugging me tight. He smells like spices and soap, little boy mixed with dragon, and the scent is so familiar that it makes tears pool in my eyes, because I want to keep this moment, and I know I can't. "I love you, Mama."
"I love you, too, baby." I hug him back, squeezing him tight.
"I have to go. I'll be back soon, though. Don't be sad." He pulls away and then dances into the shadows. I watch him go, my heart both aching and full of joy. As he leaves, the light seems to go with him…
I'm left in darkness, and the moment he disappears, I hear the buzz of insect wings.
I jerk awake with a gasp.
Mhal reaches for me, his thoughts flowing with concern. You are awake. Finally.
I put a hand to my forehead, frowning. I know it was a dream, and yet at the same time…it felt so real. Images so vivid I feel as if I can touch them scatter through my brain, but when I try to focus, they dance away. I know I'm going to lose them. Like all dreams, they drift through my head and disappear just as quickly.
You were having a nightmare. I tried to reach you and I could not. What happened? He pulls me closer to him, his protectiveness in overdrive.
