Cameron\u2019s mouth dried out and he stared at her for a few long moments, lips thinning. \u201cHas it gotten worse?\u201d he finally asked in a whisper. \u201cHas the Hunt being here\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s the Hunt,\u201d Carolyn said. \u201cAnd it hasn\u2019t really gotten any worse. It just feels like it could. He\u2019s been dreaming again and hasn\u2019t told anyone, but I know. He doesn\u2019t realize that he talks in his sleep.\u201d She smiled crookedly, hugging her arms tightly around herself. \u201cI haven\u2019t worked up the courage to ask him about them. Maybe I don\u2019t want to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re bothering you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have no idea.\u201d Her lips thinned and she edged closer to the border of the wards. \u201cMaybe they shouldn\u2019t, but they do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does he dream about? Do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
Carolyn chewed on her lower lip, nodding slightly. \u201cI know some of it. He sees memories of his soul\u2014past lives, that kind of thing. A lot of us have old souls. I…I haven\u2019t asked if I do. I\u2019m pretty sure that I don\u2019t want to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m with you there,\u201d Cameron said, then smiled weakly. \u201cBad enough finding out that my bloodline was full of surprises. I don\u2019t know what I\u2019d do if I started finding out about my past lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA potentially wise decision on both of your parts,\u201d Leinth\u2019s voice said from behind both of them. Carolyn stiffened and Cameron winced.<\/p>\n
I should have heard her coming. You\u2019re getting slow and complacent, Mackenzie, and that\u2019s going to get you killed.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhere did you come from?\u201d he murmured to the dark-cloaked woman as she joined them near the edge of the wards.<\/p>\n \u201cCariocecus\u2019s bedside, if you\u2019re actually curious and not just making conversation.\u201d The faint smile she shot the two of them softened the sharpness of her words, but only slightly. \u201cYou two aren\u2019t exactly people I would expect to find out here staring at that ravine out there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe were just talking, that\u2019s all. We both needed some air,\u201d Carolyn said, smiling faintly at Leinth. \u201cSame thing for you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou might say that,\u201d Leinth said quietly, crossing her arms and letting her cloak fall closed around her. She didn\u2019t seem to notice the rain as it pattered down against her hair. \u201cYou two should get out of the rain. You\u2019ll catch your death out here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you wouldn\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n She gave them both a crooked smile. Cameron shivered.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe not, Carolyn,\u201d he said. She blushed, looking away.<\/p>\n \u201cRight. Well…I don\u2019t know. I\u2019m not ready to go back.\u201d<\/p>\n Cameron chewed the inside of his cheek, still staring at the ravine. He wasn\u2019t ready yet, either. The aches had subsided into a strange numbness\u2014maybe it was the proximity to the wardings, maybe it was Carolyn\u2019s faery friends, or Leinth\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not raining that hard,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll stay a little while, too.\u201d<\/p>\n A wind somewhere above them ruffled the branches of the trees in the ravine and then was gone. The three stood in silence at the edge of the wards. No bird sang. The wind died away, leaving nothing in its wake.<\/p>\n All they could hear was the faint patter of the rain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cameron\u2019s mouth dried out and he stared at her for a few long moments, lips thinning. \u201cHas it gotten worse?\u201d he finally asked in a whisper. \u201cHas the Hunt being here\u2014\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s the Hunt,\u201d Carolyn said. \u201cAnd … Continue reading