16 #2
That night I had a dream. It wasn’t one of Caspian’s memories, nor did I relive my own past. It was a glimpse of a life that had never existed, but felt real all the same.
Ren and I were together in a small, sun-warmed apartment, the kind where nothing creaked with hidden meaning and silence wasn’t a warning.
He moved through the space without looking over his shoulder, bare feet on the floor, happily humming to himself without the restraints of fear.
I wasn’t listening for ghosts. My magic was quiet, settled, like it finally trusted the world was safe around us. Ren smiled at me, that beautiful, heartwarming smile he had only shown me once before. It spoke of a promised tomorrow, a time together when love didn’t come with a body count.
Ren was pulling away from me, retreating behind walls I didn’t know how to breach, for reasons he hadn’t yet trusted me with.
It hurt in a way I couldn’t quite explain.
Part of me understood it. Ren had always kept people at a distance, but with me, he had started to let those walls crack.
And now it felt like I was watching him slowly build them back up.
This was all my fault. Because I couldn’t stop caring.
Because kindness meant I couldn’t look away while the city burned, couldn’t stand by while they mocked, hunted, and erased innocent lives.
I couldn’t let them take Alex. And I had to do something to free Lukas.
No matter how badly I wanted the quiet life with Ren from my dream, I knew this was the one I had to survive.
I woke with a sharp gasp, lungs burning and heart pounding against my ribs.
The remnants of the dream clung to me—warmth, sunlight, Ren’s easy presence—only to dissolve as reality rushed back in.
The room was dim and quiet, broken only by the press of a brutal winter wind rattling the windows.
My magic stirred uneasily in my chest, no longer gentle or trusting but coiled and alert, as if it too had remembered it was only a dream. The real threat was still out there.
“What are you trying to show me?” I spoke to the magic as if it would actually give me an answer. Did I really have a future with Ren? Could we live happily ever after? Was the Syndicate going to tear us apart?
I lay there in bed for a moment, staring at the ceiling, letting the ache settle.
Knowing sleep wouldn’t return, I got up and showered, then made my way down to the basement to work on some spells.
I hadn’t been giving the business my full attention since I started searching for Ren, and I was grateful to Ivy and Stella for helping me keep it up and running while I was gone.
As I flicked on the light and made my way down the stairs to the basement, I rubbed at my eyes, half-expecting the scene to dissolve like an illusion.
It didn’t. Boxes were stacked everywhere, crowding the room in uneven towers, each one packed with a dozen or more orders waiting to be delivered.
My workbench was a disaster. Vials were uncorked, notes half-smeared with ink, and a container of dirty equipment lay untouched, waiting to be washed.
Ivy had been racing to figure out how to replicate my spells with just fragments of my bottled magic, trying to keep up with a demand that refused to slow.
“Did you leave the light on last night?” A groggy voice came from the top of the stairs and was followed by an obnoxious yawn.
“No. I’m sure I shut everything off before I went to bed.”
Stella and Ivy froze at the sight of me standing there like a deer in headlights.
“What exactly happened while I was gone?” Disbelief shimmered through the question. When I left two months ago, I had just started this business. I was lucky to have a few sales a week. It was nothing like this.
A slow, knowing smirk tugged at Stella’s lips, full of quiet certainty.
“Well, we weren’t sure what would happen with Ren gone or how long you'd be out there searching. We needed to make sure we had enough money to pay the bills. So, I took to the farmer’s markets to sell some goods, did a little advertising through social media, and, with Ivy’s super smart noggin, we were able to figure some things out. ”
“I can’t replicate your magic.” Ivy lowered her head and rubbed her hands together.
“But you left us a lot of powders and liquids imbued with your magic, so I spent a lot of time analyzing your notes. I’m sure the products aren’t as good as yours, but with Alyeesa’s help, I did my best to keep up with your standards.
Things really took off. I expanded into making some other things beyond lollipops and gummies, like cookies and teas. I … I hope that’s okay.”
I rushed over and crushed Ivy in a hug. “You’re absolutely amazing, Ivy.” I then wrapped my arms around Stella, who groaned uncomfortably. “Thank you, both. Words aren’t enough to show how grateful I am that you did this.”
Stella pointed to the stacks of boxes. “Well, if you’re looking for a way to repay us, you can get your ass on Scootie Pie and deliver these. I’m done running all over town freezing my ass off in the middle of winter. And Ivy is done working fifteen-hour days. We do have regular jobs, you know.”
Ren hadn’t returned this morning and probably wasn’t even up yet. I couldn’t practice sending phantoms home or closing the veil without Alex. The most helpful thing I could currently do was grab my winter coat and head out.