She felt like she was falling through night sky, stars streaking past in brilliant hot white. Why doesn't it burn? she wondered. The endless black didn't frighten her; it enervated her, filled her with a sense of anticipation. The realization came: she wasn't so much falling as she was flying, and her arms came out in response, catching the almost ephemeral rush that passed for wind in this place. Ahead was a brightness, infinitely bright white that seemed to burn into an electric blue near the center. She squinted at it, peering through her lashes as she hurtled through the darkness towards the center light. She flung her arms up, instinctively trying to protect her face as she collided with the light.
Panting from imagined exertion, she sat up, the cover of thin blanket tumbling from her front to her lap as she passed hands over her face. Oh, god, she still felt the burn, as if the flesh of her face and arms had been entirely peeled away. She shook as she ran fingertips along her skin, and, by the light of the failing campfire, tried to examine herself for visible evidence of burns. Slowly, her heartbeat ebbed as she calmed, and found no evidence of burn.
Was it just a dream? It seemed so real....
She flopped back down on her bedroll and then turned on to her side, putting her back towards the fire, and stared out at the edge of the lake they had camped near. The moonlight reflected back up from the mirrorlike surface, bright white and blue, and she shivered. It had to have been a dream.
Jasper, standing guard, looked away from her once she reentered sleep and shoved his hands deeper into his coat. A bad dream, he thought. But bad dreams could be much more, here. He would watch, and protect her. As he always had.
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