hollow, and worthless. That was what the Grove of Dreams was trying to tell me. Too much was gone.
When my parents died, it was like two mighty trees had been uprooted. Ren had come into my life and had filled the empty landscape of my heart. My heart had healed, and the dry ground had been replaced by soft grass, lovely sandalwood trees, climbing jasmine, and roses. Right in the center of everything was a water fountain surrounded by tiger lilies, a beautiful place where I could sit and feel warmth and peace and love. Now the fountain was shattered, the lilies uprooted, the trees toppled, and there just wasn’t enough soil left to grow anything else. I was barren, desolate—a desert incapable of sustaining life.
A soft breeze stirred my hair and blew strands of it across my face. I didn’t bother pushing them aside. I didn’t hear Kishan get up. I just felt his fingertips brush against my face as he lifted the strands from my cheek and tucked them behind an ear.
“Kelsey?”
I didn’t respond. My unblinking eyes stared at the brightening dawn sky.
“Kells?”
He slid his hands under my body and picked me up. Then he sat on the bed and hugged me to his chest.
“Kelsey, please say something. Talk to me. I can’t stand to see you like this.”
He rocked me for a while. I could hear him and respond to him in my mind, but I felt detached from my environment, from my body.
I felt a raindrop hit my cheek, and the shock of it woke me, brought me to the surface. I lifted a hand and brushed the drop away.
“Is it raining? I didn’t think it rained here.”
He didn’t answer. Another drop splashed on my forehead.
“Kishan?” I looked at him and realized it wasn’t rain but tears.
His golden eyes were full of watery tears.
Puzzled, I lifted a hand to his cheek. “Kishan? Why are you crying?”
He smiled weakly. “I thought you were lost, Kells.”
“Oh.”
“Tell me. What did you see to take you so far away from me? Did you see Ren?”
“No. I saw nothing. My dreams were filled with cold blackness. I think it means he’s dead.”
“No. I don’t think so, Kells. I saw Ren in my dreams.”
Vitality surged back into my limbs. “You saw him? Are you sure?”
“Yes. We were arguing on a boat, actually.”
“Could it be a dream from the past?”
“No. We were on a modern yacht. In fact, it’s the yacht that belongs to us.”
I sat up straighter. “Are you absolutely 100 percent certain that this happens in the future?”
“I’m sure.”
I hugged him and kissed his cheeks and forehead. I punctuated each kiss with “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
“Wait, Kells. The thing is, in the dream, we were arguing about—”
I laughed, grabbed his shirt, and shook him lightly, crazed with giddy relief. He was alive! “I don’t care what you were arguing about. You two always argue.”
“But I think I should tell you—”
I hopped off his lap and began moving quickly, gathering our things. “Tell me later. There’s no time now. Let’s get going. What are we waiting for? A tiger needs to be rescued. Come on. Come on!”
I darted around with crazed energy. A desperate, fevered determination filled my mind. Every minute we delayed meant more pain for the one I loved. The dream of Ren had been real. I wouldn’t have thought up new words in Hindi by myself, especially an endearment his father has used for his mother. I had been with him somehow. I had touched him, kissed him. Something had broken our connection, but he was still alive! He could be saved. In fact, he would be saved! Kishan had seen the future!
The Silvanae prepared a sumptuous breakfast, but we took it to go, hurried through good-byes, and headed back toward the spirit gate. It took two days of fast hiking to get to the gate following the directions the Silvanae had given us. Kishan said very little on the trip, and I was too wrapped up in thoughts of finding Ren to find out why.
Upon reaching the gate, I asked the Divine Scarf to create new winter gear for us, and after changing, I summoned my lightning power and placed my hand in the carved depression on the side of the gate. My skin glowed, becoming translucent and pink as the gateway shimmered and opened. We looked at each other, and I suddenly felt sad— as if we were saying good-bye. Kishan removed his glove and