He’s curled on the ground in some quiet, abandoned corner. And beside him is a companion—a Striker with a distinct, graceful presence.

Jeran? Jeran! All the breath leaves me in a rush.

In my dream, I feel as if I’m standing right at his side. The moonlight cuts blue and gray across the narrow alley, slanting an arc of light against his face.

Red opens his eyes and sits up. Then he stares directly at me. Is he really awake? At first, his stare looks wild, like he can’t quite be sure where he is. Strands of his metallic hair cling to the side of his face.

“Talin?” he whispers aloud. Then he blinks and really sees me for the first time. He realizes we have linked in our dreams. And his entire face changes.

He reaches for me before I can say anything more, then pauses, his hands stopping before they touch me as if he’s afraid.

Why are you here? I whisper in our dream this time, and the sound seems to come out like a sob. I told you to stay in the wilds outside Newage.

He doesn’t speak right away. Instead, he bows his head. I am next to him, but not. I can feel the stir of his breath against me, but he feels far away, the warmth of him dampened. I can feel every painful edge of his emotions, but I cannot see the finer details of his face. He looks like I’m gazing at him through a fine, translucent cloth, his features softened. I am keenly aware of the way the moonlight outlines the edge of his arm and neck and shoulder in silver.

I turn away in my dream, in a desperate attempt to escape this meeting. I’ve caused enough pain in one day. If I hurt Red now …

Then Red lifts his eyes and looks directly at me. Wait, he says.

I stop, listening for more.

You fear Constantine sensing the tide of your emotions, he says. But there’s nothing we can do to stop ourselves from seeing each other in our dreams like this. It’s inevitable.

I shake my head.

But maybe we can control what he senses from you during these dreams, he continues softly. Maybe we can alter these meetings somehow, manipulate our emotions so he can’t suspect anything is amiss.

I start to shake my head again. Even with Raina’s tonic, the thought of hurting the Strikers and Red again is terrifying. How can I feel anything but anguish and yearning and fear? How can I—

But as I think this, Red takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.

The dark alleyway, the scene of Cardinia at night.

It all shifts abruptly, like a ripple on a pond. Red opens his eyes and then looks around us. He glances back at me.

Think of the warmest memory you have, he tells me. Think of a place that brings you peace.

Peace. It’s such a foreign, distant thought that I want to laugh through my tears. But instead, I find my thoughts going immediately to a tree-lined street.