Whew.
I feel better.
I never thought I’d find a lack of pleasurable sensation a relief, but here we are.
A part of me knows I should wriggle out of Valerian’s hold, but a much bigger part of me needs the comfort and thus tells that first part to shut up and enjoy this.
“What just happened?” I whisper—and realize my throat is hoarse, presumably from all the moaning and screaming.
“Did you feel really good for no apparent reason?” Valerian asks, his breath tickling the back of my neck.
I exhale, trying not to react to that pleasurable sensation. “Understatement of the year.”
“I think I know what happened,” he murmurs into my ear. “The game must be in the hands of the players.”
The game. Of course. How could I forget?
Last I checked, Bernie and Rattie had kept working on the Lucid Dreamer project. The game features me as the heroine who openly uses her powers, and the hope was that it would leverage human belief mojo to make me a stronger dreamwalker.
Seems like the game has been released, and our idea has worked. When beta testers had first used the game, I’d also felt pleasure, just less of it. If the intensity of what I experienced tonight is anything to go by, this was a more significant boost.
“What now?” I ask hoarsely. “What can I do that I couldn’t do before?”
“No idea.” Valerian’s breath tickles my ear again. “But hopefully you can jolt your mom awake the next time you try.”
Right. With my pleasure-addled brain, I hadn’t thought of that yet, even though that was the whole point of the project.
I cover his hands with mine. “I want to hurry back to Gomorrah.”
Valerian stills, then exhales slowly. “I’m sorry. Even if we didn’t care about this world dying from the virus, Nulen would fight us again—and we’d lose.”
I do my best to conceal my disappointment. “Of course. Need to finish saving Necronia first.”
“That’s right. Besides, it will probably take you a few days to internalize your new power. Also, as more users get the game, you’ll grow stronger yet.”
I stiffen. Experiencing the boost isn’t something I want to relive.
“Don’t worry,” Valerian says softly. “My guess is, now that you’ve achieved a certain threshold, adding more will feel like a good mood, or even nothing at all.”
Huh. Is that why I’m in such a good mood right now? Or is it because of the spooning?
An unexpected yawn tugs at me, and I hear a soft chuckle against my hair.
“Go back to sleep. You need it.”
I close my eyes, though I’m doubtful I’ll be able to fall asleep after all that’s happened—not to mention, with his arms around me.
Wrong.
The sleep is instant, dreamless, and extremely deep.
When I wake in the morning, to my huge disappointment, Valerian isn’t spooning me anymore. Instead, he’s back in his chair, watching me with an unreadable expression.
Did I dream the whole power boost and his comforting me?
He moves to the edge of his seat, his gaze warming slightly. “How are you feeling?”
I sit up, holding the blanket against my chest. “Was it all a dream?”
A faint smile touches his eyes. “No. It happened.”
I check to make sure Pom is on my wrist.
He is. Not dreaming now.
“Look away,” I say and realize my throat feels better.
He complies, and I quickly put my clothes on, then head for the door.
“Breakfast is already downstairs,” he says. “You’re the last to wake up.”
I guiltily examine the dark circles under his eyes. “Did you get any sleep?”
He shakes his head. “I stood watch, as promised.”
“Then you’d better get some sleep soon. I can tell you from experience, sleep deprivation blows.”
He cocks his head. “I could sleep on the litter. But you’d have to promise not to sneak into my dreams without my permission.”
I place a hand over my heart. “I swear not to go into your dreams without your permission when you sleep on the litter. But if you don’t let me in soon, eventually I’ll catch you sleeping elsewhere and not be able to help myself.”
He nods, eyes gleaming. “I’ll take that under advisement.”
The breakfast is identical to dinner, with banana-like fruit for me and questionable items for the crew. As we eat, Dylan tells us she was visited by Maxwell in her dream. He and the others have reached Gomorrah safely, and the scientists there have started working on a cure.
“In the meanwhile, a healer is keeping him alive,” Dylan says as we get up from the table. “In hindsight, maybe we should’ve brought one with us as well.”
“Isis refused to go,” Valerian says. “Same with the others we asked.”
“What about Kit and the rest?” Ariel asks. “Did they become Overtaken?”
“They did,” Dylan says somberly. “But with proper care, they can continue to lead normal lives.”
Valerian holds the door for me. “So long as they sleep under lock and key, and stay far away from Bailey.”