Page 75 of Keldori By Daybreak

“No, my Lady, he was only part of me—the best part—and I killed him for you.” He placed his hand over mine where it pressed against his side under the water.

“He’s not really dead,” I whispered. “You can still remember—”

“Just the last two days.”

“No.” I shook my head, and my heart hitched. “It’s there. You dreamed about it just last night.”

Ciarán sat up and opened his eyes as his fingers tightened over mine. “What do you mean?”

“You were talking in your sleep, but in my head. You mentioned Gams and bagels—”

“Bagels?”

“Yeah, they’re a breakfast food.”

“I—” Ciarán paused, his brow furrowing once again. “Yes, I know that. I think.”

“Sure. So you mentioned Gams and bagels, which means Liam is still in there somewhere and then—” Now it was my turn to pause. Did he remember his dream? Would he be angry that I’d intruded?

“And then what, Blue?”

“And then you dreamed about being Liam. It was a memory, I think.”

Ciarán exhaled heavily through his nose, stirring the steam between us. “And you got all that from sleep talking?”

“No.” I gulped.

“You were in the dream with me?”

“I think I was you. Do you remember it?”

He shook his head. “How did you get inside my dream?”

“I was healing you,” I mumbled. “And when you started sleep talking as Liam, I thought maybe I could heal your memories as well as your injuries. And then I got tangled up inside your head.”

His nostrils flared, but then his brow softened, and he relaxed again.

“No more trying to heal my memories.” He let go of my hand, but I kept my fingers pressed against his ribs. “Let Liam stay dead.”

“I saw Ciarán too.”

His pulse quickened beneath my palm, and I blushed. Somehow, having seen his memories as Ciarán felt more intrusive than visiting Liam’s.

“What?”

“In your memory, you fell asleep as Liam and woke up as Ciarán.” When Ciarán said nothing, I rushed to fill the silence. “That’s how I figured out the eye trick after Orla’s goggles broke, I think. Because I was in your body in your memory, and you made this.” I gestured vaguely at my eyes and looked away. “So now I know how to do it.”

I let the ensuing silence settle. I’d overstepped the frail boundaries that existed between us. I hadn’t meant to, and he’d done the same so many times in so many ways, but I still felt bad. I tried to remove my hand, but his returned to hold mine in place.

“Do you know how to turn it off?” Ciarán’s voice turned gentle, again making me think of Liam.

“The eye thing?” I blinked several times in rapid succession, testing the Skal shield I’d made over my retinas. “No.”

He laughed softly. “Imagine putting a blanket over a fire, but the blanket is a second set of eyelids inside your eyes.” He blinked away the glow of his irises, revealing Liam’s amber eyes. “Does that make sense?”

“Not really.”

“Like I said, a good Magician is imaginative. Just try it. You willed a spear into existence and then threw it at my head today, so I know you can at least do this.”