Page 62 of Knotted By the Triad

“What are you saying?” I yelled.

Her lips kept moving. Something told me to stop chasing her and listen. So I stood perfectly still and strained to hear. Ellora's voice came through the darkness, faint at first, then suddenly clear.

“It's real, Zuri. It's not from Ciori's imagination. This world is real.”

What did she mean, this world was real?

“She's a seer. CiCi is a seer from Runeborne. You’re a shifter from Ashborne. It's all real.”

“What?” I yelled when her voice started to fade a bit.

I’d heard something about CiCi and Runeborne. But that was about it.

“Her visions are of a future. Though she can see into the future, she cannot see into the hearts of people. She cannot see the true intentions hidden behind their smiles. And the futures she sees are not set in stone. One change can cause a ripple that changes an entire timeline.”

I squinted, thinking that would help me hear her better.

“Did you say CiCi has visions?” I yelled.

“Yes. Those dreams of this world were visions she unknowingly turned into a book. This place is real. This place is your home. Your deaths returned you to your rightful places.”

The blood moon behind her seemed to grow brighter.

“The blood moon is the celestial event that helped you return home safely.”

“Return home?” I yelled.

Ms. Ellora began to fade.

“Wait!” I reached for her. “Ms. Ellora! I don’t understand. If this place is real, then am I the real Zuri? But that’s impossible.”

“I will find you one day, little Zuri. When I do, I’ll tell you everything. Protect each other until I arrive. Stay strong, little one.”

I woke suddenly and rubbed my eyes, only to find that I’d been crying.

“What kind of dream was that?” I whispered.

It had felt so real. Yet, it couldn’t be. Then again, given my current predicament, anything could be real. I rubbed my forehead and felt a slight scar there. Ignoring it, I tried to rub away the headache that dream had brought me.

Ms. Ellora had said that CiCi was a seer from Runeborne. In her book, that’s exactly what she was. Was my mind just creating dreams based on the books? And if I was in a coma, why was I dreaming at all?

But what if I wasn’t in a coma? What if this place was real? What if I was really Zuri? That thought process only made my head hurt worse. That couldn’t be true. How could I be the real Zuri?

I couldn’t be in two places at once: my world and this world. I was tripping. The battle with the smuggler and the fall with Daemin had my mind spinning up crazy theories. Lowering my hand from my head, I stared around the room, my heart still beating fast from my dream.

A noise from somewhere deeper inside the house pulled me from my thoughts. I froze, listening. It sounded like something closing, followed by the faint creak of a floorboard. I immediately looked toward the couch. It was empty.

“Daemin?” I called, pushing myself upright.

No answer came. Outside the windows, it was still dark. I had no idea how long I’d been asleep. It could’ve been twenty minutes or several hours. My body certainly felt like I’d spent several days curled up on the floor.

Wait, I wasn’t on the floor. I was on the couch opposite the one Daemin had been on. And a clean blanket was covering me. I smiled. He wasn’t just a smooth talker. He was also considerate.

Tossing the blanket back, I started to stand, then caught the familiar scent of leather and cloves drifting through the house. My dragon raised her head the second she caught his scent. She pushed at me, urging me toward him.

Mate. Go to mate.

“I’m going. I’m going,” I whispered as I slowly pushed myself to my feet.