The Shadow Tide

CHAPTER 15 - Dream

When Brethen returned to her room, she found Sabina on her knees inside the closet, organizing a stack of clean clothes.

"It's late, Sabina," Brethen said. "You can finish that tomorrow."

"I threw away those blood-stained clothes," Sabina continued her task without looking at Brethen. "I hope you weren't attached to them."

Brethen hadn't travelled in uniform—not that her other clothes differed much from it. They were always simple and comfortable, with boots and a tunic or jacket. She couldn't even recall what she wore the day before.

"I also changed your bedding," Sabina stood up, patting her knees. "You need to stop hiding daggers under the pillows."

The older woman was about to leave the closet, but Brethen blocked her way.

"Sabina," she said. "Do you like your job?"

"What's gotten into you, girl?"

"Tell the truth, please. If you could do something else, would you?"

Sabina playfully tapped Brethen's arm and squeezed through the doorway.

"This job found me in a difficult time, not the other way around," she said. "It's an honor to take care of you. I can't imagine doing anything else."

Brethen felt a tightening in her throat and took a step forward to hug Sabina. The woman wrapped her arms around her and patted Brethen's back.

"Do you want me to brush your hair?" Sabina asked, and Brethen nodded. She was about to lie down, and her hair looked perfectly fine, but a bit of affection wouldn't hurt.

-

Later, when she went to bed, exhaustion quickly took over, and she had restless dreams filled with waves and mountains. She woke suddenly to the sound of a bell. It was one of the alarms in Arian's room.

Brethen jumped out of bed, grabbing a dagger—put back in place by Sabina despite the earlier complaint—and rushed toward the secret passage between the rooms.

The scene in Arian's room made her wonder if she was still dreaming. Or rather, if she was having a nightmare.

Arian was alone in the room, but the relief ended there. The prince was not on the bed; he floated about a meter above it, arms hanging down by his sides, head thrown back. Enormous shadowy tentacles thrashed around the room, emerging from the prince's chest. His eyes were closed, mouth slightly open.

"Arian!" she shouted from the door, but the sound seemed muffled and distant. "Arian!"

The room, illuminated only by the moonlight streaming through the windows, seemed to have simultaneously shrunk and expanded. Brethen feared what would happen if any of those tentacles touched her, but she had to do something. So she ran.

The first tentacle struck her on the side, at rib height, and Brethen fell. But she quickly got up and kept running, dodging two more tentacles before being hit again, this time from behind. She fell forward, her chest hitting the edge of Arian's bed, and pain spread through her entire body, but at least she was closer now.

"Arian!" she shouted again, but her voice seemed muted and distant.

She climbed onto the bed, rolled under Arian, passed her arms around his belly, and pulled with all her might. The tentacles disappeared, and he fell on top of her, knocking the breath out of Brethen.

Arian struggled, trying to free himself from her arms. They rolled to the side, but she didn't let go.

"It's me!" she said, squeezing tighter. "It's me! It's okay."