through a shower of debris as the world flies apart. Maia is barefoot but seems to know the path as she leads us into the shadows.
We’re now outside on a dark city street, wind battering us and the sound of destruction following as we try to outrun it. Another roar rends the sky, releasing bitter-smelling rain that burns through my clothes on its way to my skin. The pain is delayed, but when it hits, the knife wound on my chest feels like a tickle in comparison. Pure agony, far worse than the metal that skewered and killed me.
Maia cries out beside me, suffering as well, and I feel the need to protect her. I wrap an arm around her and break the cardinal rule of dream-walking.
We stand in a green valley, the clouds low enough to touch. Rolling hills spread out all around us. The rain burned away most of her gown, leaving strips of fabric which do nothing to cover her. The skin across her chest and torso is angry, puckered with welts. I look the same. Although she must be in pain, she notices my gaze, which has stopped on her breasts, and covers herself with her arms.
I turn away, embarrassed to be caught staring. I point to a small pond a few hundred feet away, but cannot form any words. She follows me silently, then we both divest ourselves of the shreds of our clothing and dip into the cool, refreshing waters.
The sting of the burns disappears, and I find my voice again.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Her voice hits my back as I try to give her a modicum of privacy. “Looks like you might be an Angel of Destiny after all.”
“What I did — it isn’t allowed. The Destinies only dream-walk when they have specific missions. They don’t … save people from nightmares.”
She is quiet for a while, and I hear nothing but the gentle splashing of the water as she dips again.
I imagine the water running across her body. She’s small, perhaps too thin, the bones of her collarbone showing prominently at the base of her neck. I cannot get the sight of her breasts from my mind. The urge to stroke, just to glide the pad of a finger across the tip of her dark nipple. Allow my tongue to lazily sketch a path across her peaks.
I dip my head under the water to clear my thoughts. When I first came here, while aware of all the various functions of the human body, it was still quite an adjustment to experience them for myself. Kalyx had warned me about the carnal urges. In my previous life, I had never given in. Viv had accepted my proposal of marriage before we died, but had been firm in her desire to remain chaste. The twenty-first century, however, is stimulating in ways I hadn’t ever imagined.
I wrangle myself back under control, unable to completely erase thoughts of Maia’s body from my mind, but continuing to try.
“Will you get in trouble?” she asks. I chance a glance back at her. We’re both crouching in the pond with just our heads above the surface.
I put some distance between us and tread water in the deepest part of the tiny pool. I try to make my voice light. “I could be banned from Euphoria, but I already am.”
“So basically, you can break all the rules now?” A small smile breaks through her severe facade. What would it be like to see her face explode in true joy? The garish paint has been washed away, leaving only her face, so fresh and beautiful.
When my hand strokes her cheek, I’m not sure how I got so close again — within touching distance. This is definitely a bad idea. I wait for her to push me away, but she merely closes her eyes and leans into my hand.
It’s just this, my hand on her face, the cool water all around us, but I’m acutely aware of her nakedness underneath the surface and just inches from my own.
I take in a jagged breath and pull my hand away.
“What was that dream? Have you had it before?”
The spell broken, her open expression shutters again, and I instantly regret the question. But it is for the best.
It must be.
“Yes,” is all she
We’re now outside on a dark city street, wind battering us and the sound of destruction following as we try to outrun it. Another roar rends the sky, releasing bitter-smelling rain that burns through my clothes on its way to my skin. The pain is delayed, but when it hits, the knife wound on my chest feels like a tickle in comparison. Pure agony, far worse than the metal that skewered and killed me.
Maia cries out beside me, suffering as well, and I feel the need to protect her. I wrap an arm around her and break the cardinal rule of dream-walking.
We stand in a green valley, the clouds low enough to touch. Rolling hills spread out all around us. The rain burned away most of her gown, leaving strips of fabric which do nothing to cover her. The skin across her chest and torso is angry, puckered with welts. I look the same. Although she must be in pain, she notices my gaze, which has stopped on her breasts, and covers herself with her arms.
I turn away, embarrassed to be caught staring. I point to a small pond a few hundred feet away, but cannot form any words. She follows me silently, then we both divest ourselves of the shreds of our clothing and dip into the cool, refreshing waters.
The sting of the burns disappears, and I find my voice again.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Her voice hits my back as I try to give her a modicum of privacy. “Looks like you might be an Angel of Destiny after all.”
“What I did — it isn’t allowed. The Destinies only dream-walk when they have specific missions. They don’t … save people from nightmares.”
She is quiet for a while, and I hear nothing but the gentle splashing of the water as she dips again.
I imagine the water running across her body. She’s small, perhaps too thin, the bones of her collarbone showing prominently at the base of her neck. I cannot get the sight of her breasts from my mind. The urge to stroke, just to glide the pad of a finger across the tip of her dark nipple. Allow my tongue to lazily sketch a path across her peaks.
I dip my head under the water to clear my thoughts. When I first came here, while aware of all the various functions of the human body, it was still quite an adjustment to experience them for myself. Kalyx had warned me about the carnal urges. In my previous life, I had never given in. Viv had accepted my proposal of marriage before we died, but had been firm in her desire to remain chaste. The twenty-first century, however, is stimulating in ways I hadn’t ever imagined.
I wrangle myself back under control, unable to completely erase thoughts of Maia’s body from my mind, but continuing to try.
“Will you get in trouble?” she asks. I chance a glance back at her. We’re both crouching in the pond with just our heads above the surface.
I put some distance between us and tread water in the deepest part of the tiny pool. I try to make my voice light. “I could be banned from Euphoria, but I already am.”
“So basically, you can break all the rules now?” A small smile breaks through her severe facade. What would it be like to see her face explode in true joy? The garish paint has been washed away, leaving only her face, so fresh and beautiful.
When my hand strokes her cheek, I’m not sure how I got so close again — within touching distance. This is definitely a bad idea. I wait for her to push me away, but she merely closes her eyes and leans into my hand.
It’s just this, my hand on her face, the cool water all around us, but I’m acutely aware of her nakedness underneath the surface and just inches from my own.
I take in a jagged breath and pull my hand away.
“What was that dream? Have you had it before?”
The spell broken, her open expression shutters again, and I instantly regret the question. But it is for the best.
It must be.
“Yes,” is all she
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