Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
A tragic smile twitched my lips as I reached for her hand where she sat beside me on the black leather couch in Frank’s office.
We’d only woken an hour or so ago, and according to Frank, who sat on the edge of a matching black chair—jiggling his leg and pressing rewind on the remote like it was hiding secrets he desperately needed to know—we’d been unable to be roused for over thirty-seven hours.
The moment we’d returned from the dreamscape, he’d dragged us to his personal office where he’d ordered us to have a shower, change into a spare set of clothes, and had presented trays and trays of food—trying to find something to entice us—only for it to make us retch.
It was official.
The thought of putting anything in my mouth that wasn’t Rook made my stomach twist violently with disgust.
“The good news is...” Frank sniffed and stopped jiggling his leg. “The good news is there is clear evidence that whatever you’re doing in the dream world is affecting you in the real world. See?” He pressed play, watching as I dragged Rook to the bed, cupped her cheek and kissed her.
The second our lips connected, we collapsed into two unmovable corpses.
For a couple of minutes, nothing happened. We just looked dead. But then...frost slowly glimmered over Rook and fire smoked over me. Our skin began to glow from within, icy blue and cherry red, making the room brighter and brighter.
The entire space was engulfed in light as silver and gold erupted from our hearts, wrapping around each other like vines. The vines continued to weave around us until it trapped us in a chrysalis, pulsing with energy and light.
The camera feed hissed with static.
It continued recording, but...we only grew lighter and brighter. The camera broke with a loud pop. The screen went black.
Frank paused the recording yet again and leaned back in the chair. “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
Dillon cleared his throat. “So...you just slept for almost two full days? You didn’t actually do anything?”
Rook’s cheeks went pink as a highlight reel unspooled in my head, remembering how many times I’d fucked her. Missionary and doggy-style, cowgirl and sixty-nine. We’d stopped counting at eight...
Her eyes met mine, heated with that delicious silver ring.
If you keep looking at me like that, Rook, I’ll have you back on your knees again.
She shifted on the couch.
Whisper went to her, no doubt smelling her arousal just like I could.
Yet another ‘gift’ from my rapidly changing body. Her scent had always been strong to me, but now...now I could smell the fluctuations of her mood and heart just as easily as I felt her.
“You’re doing it again,” Dillon muttered. “Stop talking like that. It’s rude.”
Rook laughed quietly. “You were the one who asked a stupid question. We can tell you exactly what we got up to if you want.”
“God, spare me.” Heading to the desk in the corner, he flung himself onto the computer chair. “I’ll just pretend you had a good long nap.”
“You’re right.” I smirked. “It was a great nap.”
Dillon gave me the finger and Whisper chuffed as if fully enjoying himself.
Frank frowned, studying Rook as if his eyes had become microscopes. Shuffling higher in his chair, he slipped into the interrogation I’d known was coming. “So two days you’ve been here but not really here...if you know what I mean. Two days where your bodies didn’t break. Two days where you stabilised each other. The fact that you haven’t died yet is incredible but...you’re actually looking marginally better. Tell me. How are you both feeling?”
I answered for both of us. “The constant pain has faded and we’re no longer utterly exhausted but...” I flashed Rook a look, unsure if she wanted me to share or not.
She just nodded.
I continued, “That was the fourth time we’ve fallen into the dreamscape and each time its healing capabilities are less.”
“Less how?” Frank demanded.
Rook took over. “To give you context, when we first triggered the ascension, our powers were unbearably strong. We had no idea how to wield them, and it was actually Dil who taught me that they were probably emotionally based.”
“You’re welcome.” Dillon smirked as Whisper prowled around the room, sniffing stuff.
“Up until the night in the mountains, that power felt...friendly. It answered us, even if we didn’t fully understand how to call it. It gave us what we wanted and felt happy to do it, but now...” She sighed, struggling to put it into words.
“Now it feels like our enemy,” I said. “It completely abandoned us after the mountain almost as if we’d proven ourselves unworthy. We couldn’t access it at all—and believe me, we tried. It only returned when we tripped into the dreamscape...almost as if we’d tapped into the very place where it originated. It allowed us to use it again but at a much greater cost.”