6

Catori's dream......

There was no ground beneath my feet. I was clawing at the air.

Falling.

We both were falling.

Our fingertips touch and I saw green sparks in the darkness.

Then I slipped through his fingers, and all I could feel was a loss.

"Come back, I try to say," but my voice never came.

I watched hopelessly as dragons tear at his skin with their teeth and claws; he fought them off but his effort was feeble.

---

Catori jerked awake with a stare, her head spinning from the rush of getting up too fast.

She hawked around her bedroom, noting that it was still night.

Catori's sheets were drenched in sweat, her head throbbed as she fell back down on her bed, waiting for the dream to recede.

Her dr