Song for this chapter: Dreams by AURORA
Elián;
I know I am dreaming the moment this warmth reaches me.
It's not the fleeting warmth of blankets, or the dull comfort of sleep… This is something deeper. Older. A warmth that sinks past flesh and bone and settles directly into every fragment of one's soul.
I do not open my eyes immediately— afraid that if I do, this warmth will vanish.
For a moment, I simply exist in it.
Then a hand strokes through my hair.
Slow, patient… Familiar in a way no one else's touch has ever been.
My breath stutters when I have an idea who it is.
"…Goddess Thalyra?" I whisper, and soft laughter answers me.
A giggle so delicate it sounds like it was made for no one else to hear.
I open my eyes instantly, and air gets sucked from my lungs.
The world around me is not Nagari. Not my room, not stone or silk or… vines.
I am lying under an endless sky, the colour of pearl and a setting sun.
The sky looks like an oil painting even Van Gogh would envy.
