Chapter 23 Ezra
Ihad spent most of the day constructing the ward surrounding the training grounds.
Unfortunately, it proved rather difficult to concentrate while Helena sentenced our newest ally to increasingly creative punishments.
She had apparently decided the cellar was a perfectly suitable bedroom, and despite Liv's repeated insistence that he was welcome elsewhere, he had yet to argue the matter.
I was beginning to suspect that surviving Helena's temper required a particular brand of courage.
After dinner, we gathered around the kitchen table once again.
Maps covered nearly every inch of the worn tabletop, and despite the dark circles beneath his eyes, the blacksmith looked as though there was no place he would rather be.
Whether he could truly be trusted remained to be seen, but I do not think any man would submit himself to Helena’s ire without right cause.
“Now,” I said, flattening one of the maps beneath my hand. “Before we discuss rescuing anyone, we need to determine precisely what role you will play.” The blacksmith perked up at the idea of being useful.
“So you can enter people’s dreams?” He nodded excitedly. “Explain how that works.”
“All I need to do is picture someone as I fall asleep and speak their name. If they're asleep as well, I'll find them.”
He glanced between the three of us. “I enter their dream beside them. I see what they see. Hear what they hear. Most people never know I'm there. They can't see me or hear me, but... I can influence the dream by speaking to their subconscious.”
His shoulders sagged slightly, and his eyes fell on Helena.
“How did Helena know you were entering her dreams then?” Her face twisted slightly at the mention of the intrusion. Liv leaned in closer, curious about it herself.
“None of the same rules apply when it comes to her.”
He shrugged. “I cannot control when I enter her dreams; I am simply pulled there. She can hear me, see me… and feel me.”
A heavy silence settled over the room. Raf looked as though he wished for the floor to swallow him whole.
Helena stared at a spot on the table so intently I worried it might burst into flames.
Meanwhile, Lavinia was smiling as though she knew some secret the rest of us had yet to figure out.
“Interesting,” I said, perhaps a touch too eagerly. “Can you take someone with you?”
His eyes shot to mine. “I…I have never tried.”
“Well…” I stood and rounded the table, resting my hands on his shoulders.
“It remains to be seen if your intentions here are good. Until we know if we can truly trust you, I believe someone needs to go with you.”
I did not mean it as a punishment, but a sly smile curled Helena’s lips, and her eyes finally fell on Raf. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“I do not think it will work,” he said quietly.
“We will try regardless. At the very least, we'll know whether it's possible.” I squeezed his shoulders encouragingly. “We can attempt it before you go into Stanhope’s mind.”
“How are we supposed to test if this works?” Liv looked worried.
“We begin with me, of course,” I said it as though there could not possibly be another answer. Everyone’s eyes snapped to me at once.
Raf shook his head slowly. “I truly do not believe it will work... but if you insist, we will try.”
Margaret stood immediately. “I will brew a tea; you will need it to fall asleep quickly.”
“You can use my dream.” Liv volunteered eagerly.
That would probably be for the best. Lavinia does not possess much talent for deception.
Whatever awaited us in her dreams would almost certainly be exactly what she would have said aloud had anyone thought to ask.
We settled onto the makeshift bed Margaret had arranged on the floor while she passed each of us a steaming cup of tea.
When we had finished them, I took Liv’s hand in mine.
“Actually...” Raf hesitated. “I think you should hold my hand. If I'm trying to bring someone with me... a physical connection may help.” He offered his hand, and we all lay back into the pillows.
“Start the metronome. Count six hundred clicks, then wake us. Five minutes should give us more than enough time to determine whether this works.”
Helena nodded, and I gave her a quick nod back.
I yawned loudly; Margaret’s tea was taking effect quickly.
I listened as the steady click of the metronome and the rhythm of Liv's heartbeat slowly became one. Then everything faded into darkness.
Reality tugged me back, and light flooded my eyes. I blinked away the blur until Liv came into focus, a soft smile already waiting for me. I looked to Rafael. He was studying the floor with the expression of a man awaiting judgment.
“Nothing?” I asked.
“Nothing.” Rafael hesitated. “I... told you I did not think it would work.”
“Based on what?”
“I cannot explain it. It simply never felt as though it would.”
He went back to staring at the floor. “I can still go. I know that you do not trust me yet... but I assure you, I would never do anything to harm your cause. I only want to help.”
The scrape of a chair drew my attention.
Helena rose from the corner where she had watched the experiment in silence.
“Try it with me.” She stood shoulders squared confidently before Rafael. He met her gaze without hesitation, a quiet resolve settling over his features that I had not seen from him before.
“No.” Rafael would not even entertain the idea. Gods. The tension between them filled every corner of the kitchen until even breathing felt intrusive.
“What do you mean no? It could work with me. We clearly have some kind of…connection. You said it yourself; it seems as though the rules do not apply with me.” She would not be the one to back down, and Rafael seemed to know it too.
“If it works, it could be…dangerous.” He held her gaze, but there was fear there now. Not for himself. For her.
“Look around, Blacksmith! We are standing in a sanctuary for a rebellion. Danger stopped being optional the moment we chose this path. You cannot be trusted to go in alone, but we need to find the girls before they are out of time. We must learn what Stanhope is planning. You will try it with me.”
Even I felt small beneath the weight of Helena's anger.
It was not directed at Rafael, but at everything that had led us here.
“She is right.” I stepped forward. “We cannot afford not to try. The cost could be far greater than any consequence of the dream walking.”
He searched Helena's face for a long moment before letting out a slow sigh.
“Fine.”