He turned his attention back to Selene. “That’s why I’m doing what I can to bring the Great Houses together, so we can be ready for when the empire comes. Does this have anything to do with House Ravenwood’s gift?”

Selene froze, the book between her fingers. “Why do you ask?”

“Because it was during the Dominia’s first razing that House Ravenwood was wiped out and the gift of dreaming thought gone.”

Selene looked as if she wanted to flee. But then her face changed. She lifted her chin and squared her shoulders. “Are you asking me about House Ravenwood’s gift? And why we still have it?”

“Yes.”

She looked around as if confirming the absence of others, then heaved a sigh and sat back down on the bench built into the alcove. She placed the book on the cushion next to her before starting. “You may not like what you hear. But I cannot keep it from you forever. After all, our lives are now linked together.”

Damien sat down on the other side of the bench and leaned forward, his elbows across his knees. “I promise to listen.”

Selene glanced at him, then proceeded. “As you are aware, House Ravenwood was not completely destroyed during the first razing by the Dominia Empire. My ancestor Rabanna Ravenwood was taken back to the empire as a little girl. From what I know, the empire only saw her as spoils of war, never realizing that instead of a servant, they had taken the last daughter of Ravenwood. Rabanna grew up on the other side of the wall, as a slave within the empire’s palace. When she came into her gift, she began to practice dreamwalking, honing it until there came a day she was able to use it to escape the empire and make her way back to our lands.”

“How?” Damien asked.

“You’ll see.” Selene held her arms across her stomach as if in pain.

Damien frowned and nodded for her to continue.

She looked out the window. “She was able to find passage on a boat back to our lands. Once here, Rabanna traveled to the Magyr Mountains and Rook Castle, entering into the good graces of House Remyr, the lesser house that took over as House Ravenwood after the razing. She eventually married the grand lord, raised two daughters, and taught them how to use the Ravenwood gift of dreamwalking. Her husband was bound to house secrecy, and so it has been ever since. Every Lady Ravenwood passes on the gift of dreamwalking to the next generation of daughters, who then marry and bind their husbands to secrecy. Only the head of House Ravenwood can free them from this secret. That is how we have kept our gift hidden for all of these years.”

“But why? Was your family afraid they would not be welcomed?”

Selene glanced back with such sadness and weight in her eyes that Damien was thrown off guard. “Naturally it would be difficult to trust those who allowed your house to be sacrificed. But there is more. The women of my family found a better purpose for our gift, one that brought power and gold to House Ravenwood, and ensured that our house would never fall again.”