"Come on in." He followed her inside the kitchen where she gestured for him to take a seat.
"Can I get you anything to drink?" she asked.
"I'm fine."
"I'm going to pour myself a cup of tea. This morning you could feel how upset I was through our link, couldn't you?"
"Yes, but it was muted. Like a radio station that fades in and out, enough so you can guess the song playing, but can't hear any discernible lyrics." He shook his head. "I know you won't like this suggestion, but I think we need to complete our connection. That paralyzing fear that had me wrapped up in its clutches earlier can't happen again. Not with everything that's going on and the important roles we play to our people—"
"I agree."
"Wait … what? Is this some sort of trap?"
"No." She held the warm mug between her palms, as if to ward off a chill. "The big bad that's coming is nasty. Distractions cause mistakes. I won't have that hanging over my head. The women in my dreams told me we needed to be united."
"You've dreamt of a woman?" he asked.
"Yes, a petite, brown-skinned woman with long dark hair and eyes that change with her moods."
"I've seen her." Rivka's eyes grew wide, and her mouth formed an O shape. "In my dreams I'm the male."
"Why didn't you tell me about this?"
"Because I didn’t want you to worry. You said after The Calling I might be sensitive to the energy. I figured this was an after effect, maybe even my own subconscious trying to work things out. I never expected you to be having a similar experience."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "You have anything else you've been keeping to yourself?"
"No."
"Tell me about these dreams."
"They're more like flashbacks than anything. I'm a man who fights for a living, and she's the woman I love. I'm not sure why we can't be together, but I know our relationship is a secret."
"It has something to do with her position."
"Do you know who she is?" he asked.
"No. I think they may be us in another life."
"A soul memory? I never thought of that. Do you think it's important to figure out who they are?"
"Later. Right now the woman has a message to deliver. Tavel has created something that will endanger us all."
His brother's worst fear was realized. They'd been too late to stop him. He closed his eyelids and massaged his temples with his fingers. "What did he make?"
"She couldn’t say. We were separated, and I woke up. I don't think we're allowed to know too much. It might change things."
"Would that be so bad? Haven't enough people suffered at the hands of this mad man?”
"Yes, but when has that ever mattered? Look at history, ours and that of the Earth. Evil men do terrible things. We can't do anything to stop that. What we can do is fight back and never stop until we've ended their reign of terror." Her eyes glowed with her conviction.
"You're right. I'm sorry. I'm furious we don't have him in custody already."
"It's okay, I understand." She took a sip of her tea. "If we make the connection it'll change everything."
"I know, but what choice do we have now? I've tried to respect your wishes, go at your pace, and follow your rules. That's no longer plausible."
"Doesn’t make it any less scary."