Breath of Dragons (A Pandoran Novel) by Barbara Kloss Read Free Book Online Page B

course, if you're feeling up to discussing it. About last night…"
    A little swirling sensation filled my stomach, and I found myself daydreaming about his lips again.
    Alex glanced sideways at me. "You said you'd had some vivid dreams…?"
    Oh, right. That .
    "I did," I said carefully, focusing on the trail ahead. I hoped he hadn't caught my momentary bout of reminiscent swooning.
    "Of course, if you'd rather not talk about it…" he continued.
    "No, no, it's fine. I want your opinion, anyway." I divulged into a rather detailed monologue about my dreams—what I'd seen and heard and felt. He was an attentive listener. He asked a question here and there for clarification, but otherwise he kept quiet.
    "Your mom said dreams can be more here," I continued, watching my own breath rise before my eyes. "And these were so…I can't explain, really, other than it all felt so real . Too real. Do you think they could be…visions? Warnings about the future?"
    "I wouldn't think too much of them, Daria," Alex replied slowly. "Dreams can be a lot of things, but you must not forget that they are dreams, first and foremost."
    Nearby, a small clump of snow fell from a tree branch and landed silently on the snow-covered ground. A glittering winter spirit materialized for a split second before a new breeze carried it away. "All right," I conceded. "But, what if… what if these dreams are actually Gaia trying to communicate with me?"
    Alex gave me an interesting look. I hadn't spoken of Gaia much, and definitely not as a sentient being, not as a divine creature with metaphysical properties, like all the people of Gaia had done. I'd never been much of a religious person on Earth. Alex had always held on to some greater power, but he'd never really shared what that greater power was. I knew why now, and coming to Gaia had challenged all of that for me. I'd seen and experienced things of a kind that forced me to believe in something more. To deny that was to deny my sight and rationale as a human being. And after my father had passed, thoughts of after had haunted me.
    I hadn't had much time to sift through all of these new thoughts and feelings, but they were down there, simmering in some tangled mess waiting for me to sort through them. If it were even possible to sort through them.
    "I can't claim to understand Gaia's actions—" Alex stared straight ahead "—But suppose these visions, as you've referred to them, were given to you as a means of communication; you mustn't automatically assume Gaia is the source."
    He was right, of course. If some external power had sent those dreams, I couldn't just assume that very same power had my best interest in mind. "I believe the woman in my dream was my mother, Alex," I said. "Whoever, or whatever, caused those dreams, I can't believe it used her to cause me harm."
    He did not have a response for this.
    I was almost afraid to ask my next question, but it had been my main source of discomfort. "The desert," I continued, "I've dreamt about it before. Do you think it could be a glimpse of the future?"
    His body swayed in rhythm with Parsec's, but he kept his expression tightly controlled. " A future, possibly."
    I couldn’t imagine a future in which I would willingly help Eris. "What I saw couldn't have been an effect of the poison, could it?"
    Alex shook his head and a rogue strand of dark hair fell against his forehead. Wrapped in his dark, woolen cloak, with his sword resting against his side, he looked like a winter prince. "I put you in a much deeper sleep last night," his tone was low and cautious, "which is perhaps why you remember them so vividly today. I'm sure they weren't the first; you've slept fitfully every night since we've left the castle."
    I had? He hadn't mentioned that before. "I'm sorry…if I've kept you up."
    "Don't be," he replied. "I get enough sleep. I don't need quite as much as you."
    He tilted his head sideways and gave me a knowing smile. I grinned back at him. I had