Page 223 of Sorrow & Strangers

I look at him. “You think I don’t crave your sounds? Your true sounds. Not the echo I hear from this form.”

“You do?” he asks, turning toward me.

“Yes.”

He grabs me and pulls me close, nipping at the sensitive, pointed tip of my ear again. He is very bitey today. My toes curl, but it still pales in comparison to what we had on Paradis.

“Stranger.”

He drags his fingertips along my stomach, finding the sliver of exposed skin.

“I want you to touch me. Actually, you.”

“I want that too, little fae,” he says, but his muscles are tight with tension. “But it’s too dangerous.” I glance at him, and he pulls me against him. We lie there for a while, not speaking. I don’t think either of us knows what to say to make this better, but having even the echo of his arms around me soothes something in me. It’s after midnight when he leaves, and I quickly drift off to sleep, aching with his absence.

I wake up in the bedroom as usual. It’s actually more like the stranger’s room, but not quite. I climb out of bed, my feet touching the cool marble floor. I hear that voice again, the one I heard in the previous dream. It’s calling out to me.

“Summer,” she calls to me, and I stand from the bed, walking toward the window. The forest is shrouded in darkness and mystery, and I lift my hand to the cool windowpane. My fingertips tingle from the chill.

“Summer.”

I watch, leaning closer, and then the window is gone. When I take a step forward, my feet are on plush grass, not hard marble. My silk nightdress brushes against my calves as it sways in the breeze, and my bare arms break out in goose bumps.

“Summer,” she says again, her voice louder now.

I move toward the trees, stopping in my tracks when I see her, barely breathing. She looks to be a little older than me. Her eyes are the same icy blue as mine, but her hair is much darker, almost black.

“Summer,” she says again, holding her hand out for me.

I take a step forward and reach for her, but someone yells my name, and I spin away from her.

“Summer!”

I gasp, waking with a start.

“Summer?” Alice asks, peeking into my room. “You’re not ready?”

I curse and check the time. Fuck, I’m running late.

“Coming.”

Alice nods and closes my door before going to finish getting ready herself. I slip out of bed and rush through a quick shower before getting dressed. Rafe is waiting for me downstairs, and he pushes a cup of coffee toward me. He looks absolutely miserable, and I can only assume Mira hasn’t been in touch.

“You ready for your first day back, Rafe?” I ask, sipping the coffee. “It’s next week, right?”

“Maybe. We’ll see.” Rafe says, staring into his cup.

Rafe had agreed to come back to classes the week after All Souls, but I can feel the apprehension radiating off him.

“Rafe . . .”

“I still don’t know if it’s a good idea.” Rafe shrugs. “It’s dangerous.”

“You’re in better control now,” Alice says as she comes down the stairs.

I reach out and squeeze Rafe’s arm. “We’ll discuss this later, okay? Ready, Al?” I ask, taking the pressure from Rafe.

Alice grabs a blood bag and nods, tousling Rafe’s hair as she passes his chair. Rafe growls at her, but waves as we leave the house.