Chapter 3
There was darkness.And there was a voice.
The voice spoke sometimes, a rambling dialogue interspersed with the occasional huff of irritation or snort of quiet laughter, as if the speaker were talking to herself. The melody rising and falling soothed him. It held him. Kept him company in the darkness.
Sometimes she cried. It was rare. But those were the worst times. He could hear her grief, but he couldn’t see her or touch her. And if she heard him calling to her, she certainly never responded.
And sometimes… sometimes he heard the rustle of limbs moving against the sheets. Sometimes she would moan. He couldn’t see her. Could only hear her. Could only wish that he knew what she looked like, so he could imagine her soft and warm and languid.
And he had to remind himself that she was a dream. A fantasy that his brain had offered to soothe him, drifting alone in the darkness.
But then he saw her. The darkness faded, just for a moment, and he found himself standing in an unfamiliar hallway in an unfamiliar house. He looked up, into a mirror he’d never seen before, and there she was.
She had shoulder-length blonde hair, fine strands framing her face. Big green eyes that looked right into his. She called to him like a siren, as unknown and dangerous, but just as beguiling.
Somehow, she brought back memories of pain. Of fear. Memories that he pushed down and away.
She asked him his name, and he recognized her voice immediately. But deep in his bones, he knew those weren’t the right words.
“Please don’t leave me,” echoed through his mind, but he couldn’t form the sounds.
She stretched her fingertips toward the mirror, almost as if she felt his presence like he felt hers. He lifted his own hand in response, reaching for her as he stepped closer. He needed to wrap his arms around her. To hold her. To save her. She was in danger… but he had no idea what threatened her.
He only knew that they were connected. And that was terrifying. How could he hold a dream? How terrible would the darkness be after he had glimpsed the light? What if something happened to her while he was lost in the darkness? The thought filled him with dread as the shadows washed over him once more and the world faded.
The next time he awoke, it was light. The first thing he noticed was the sunshine spilling over his surroundings as the foggy darkness retreated. And the second was the sound of her voice coming from deeper in the house. Calling to him.
He drifted into a cottage-style living room, slowly becoming more aware. The room was spacious, full of light and air and bunches of cut wildflowers. Curtains drifted in the slow breeze coming in through an open folding door. Art covered the walls—a variety of styles and colors, but all of the same couple. A man and a woman, carrying swords, dressed in leather armor, fighting shadowy enemies…. No, not always fighting. Sometimes they were doing something else entirely. Something involving significantly less armor.
Where the hell was he?
He wandered back into the hallway and caught sight of himself in a rustic-style framed mirror on the wall. The mirror from his dream.
It was weirdly dissociating. He could see himself, see the hall, see himself in the hall. But it didn’t make any sense.
He blinked, and the swirling vision settled. His face stared back at him. Familiar blue eyes. The white line of a small scar on his upper lip. He ran his fingers over the slight ridge, his mouth twitching into a smile. It was a funny story. He’d…
He froze. He couldn’t remember.
His eyes widened in the mirror, fear written over his reflection before he got control and pushed it away, composing his features. Where the fuck was he? Why was he in this place?
Something was profoundly wrong, but he couldn’t solve it until he knew where he was. That was what he needed. Concrete steps. A rational action plan.
But then an even worse question filled his mind. One he had no answer to. One he’d never imagined ever asking.
Whowas he?
He leaned a hand on the wall, bowing his head, and sucked in a ragged breath. He had to do something. He needed answers. He needed her.