wild. No deadlines, no expectations, no distractions.
I wondered if it was going to be easier for me to adapt to her way of viewing the world than for her to make sense of mine. The human perspective was irritating to her. The rules were ambiguous. There was no sense of connection to others. She felt as if we buzzed in dizzying circles like gnats on the surface of a river—aimless, accomplishing nothing of substance, and bumping haphazardly from one obstacle to the next. Never seeing beyond the small habitat where we were born, lived, and died, never sinking into the depths of the river of life, content to exist only to cause our fellow creatures discomfort.
Rest now, Lily, she said, trying to shush my thoughts.
My mind quieted immediately and I knew that was purely thanks to her. When she decided it was time to sleep, it was time to sleep. She didn’t feel guilty about it. She took advantage of quiet moments when she could. Without rest, she wouldn’t have the ability to hunt effectively or feed her young or be alert when danger struck. We needed to refresh ourselves for what was to come. It was logical. It was simple. And it was possible, because of her.
As my eyes closed, I smiled, pleased at how easily she’d accepted me as just Lily. “You never told me your name,” I said as I yawned.
She replied so quietly, I wasn’t really sure she was answering my question. But then, as I felt the weight of the word settle in my mind, I knew that what she’d said was indeed her name and that, in a way, her name now belonged to me as well. The name she’d whispered was Tiaret.
Tia, I thought. How lovely.
Tia sensed something was wrong before I did. In fact, I had a difficult time rousing my mind enough to pay attention to what she was seeing.
What is happening, Lily? she asked, petrified. Every instinct she had said we needed to bolt.
It’s okay, I whispered, sending comforting thoughts. We’re in my dream and seeing what Amon sees in the netherworld. This is where we’ll eventually be.
A shadowy creature with talons and batlike wings circled Amon overhead and, with a screech, plummeted toward him. At the last moment, Amon darted up a series of rocks and leapt, sand daggers materializing in his hands as he fell, and with a slashing motion, he disabled the creature’s wings and then raised the daggers high in the air. He brought them down, sinking them to the hilt in the neck of the beast.
With a feeble, final flap, the netherworld beast succumbed and a tired Amon slid from its back, found his leather pouch, and walked away, his armor dissolving into the sand. As he continued his journey, a thick bog appeared and the stench of decay assailed his nostrils. My eyes closed of their own volition, and I felt my mind sinking away from the vision, but Tia’s attention was riveted.
The mate you have chosen is brave.
Mmm, he is, I mumbled.
Your connection to him gives us an advantage. We can see the paths he wanders. I will track him more easily that way.
That’s good, I murmured, my words slurring and melting away like ice cream spilled on a hot sidewalk.
You sleep now, Lily. I will watch over him.
Okay. My body was feeling the effects of having nearly been crushed, though I now knew the lioness tried to be as gentle as possible in the process of our merging. Bruises covered nearly every square inch of my torso. There was no way I had enough energy to stay with Amon in my dreams. I was glad that she could, though, and I hoped I would be able to replay everything she’d seen while I was asleep.
When I woke the next morning, my tongue felt glued to the roof of my mouth and my body felt as sore as if I’d stood all night in one of those old-school vibrating-belt machines. I wasn’t sure if everything I’d experienced the day before had been one crazy dream. It certainly felt like a hallucination.
But then I felt her. Tia was…purring. There was no other way to describe it. It was a juddering sound that produced a contented hum in my mind. Her presence was a soothing weight I could feel in my chest, almost as if a house cat were cuddled up next to me.
I soon figured out the reason why she was so happy. She