I held my hand up and pushed my magic. It was nighttime so my magic was as black as the sky, because that was how my magic worked. It took the color of the sky wherever I was. Bring me to Thiago.

The moon morphed into a golden crescent and lifted high in the night sky that was suddenly a rich navy-blue color. Heat slammed into me a split-second before a scent of burning wood tingled in my nose. My breaths grew tight and labored. Thick, dark-gray smoke billowed around my feet and slithered up my body like it was a living entity.

“This smoke is thicker than my accent,” Savannah grumbled.

I opened my mouth to make a joke when bright light flashed in front of us. For a split-second I saw a two-story house before it was entirely engulfed in flames. Bright, neon-orange fire flickered that really hot blueish-purple color. This was not a dream. Sure, technically it was, but dreams weren’t this visceral. This real. This was a memory.

Savannah gasped and gripped my arm, spinning me away from the burning house. “Stop him, Coop. He doesn’t need to see this again, not tonight.”

I had no idea what I was missing, however I wasn’t in the market to question our Death Card. She knew what Thiago’s pain and fear was so I followed her lead. I was running toward the Volkswagen bus slamming on its breaks in front of the house. Through the windshield I saw Thiago’s face. The expression would haunt me. I knew it too well. And I knew my family knew it too well. But whatever happened here was in the past. The pain had already left a mark. There was no room for Riah’s healing touch here. This was what Royce wanted me to do, to get in here and pull Thiago out of reliving this moment at a time when we really needed him resting.

Thiago leapt out of his van, his face a mask of horror. I threw my hands up and forced the dream to change to a sunny garden full of sunflowers. Thiago stopped short, his light-blue eyes wide but now confused. His brow furrowed as he spun around in a panic like he wanted to go back to that memory.

“Thiago! Hey, man, over here!” I yelled out as I rushed up to him. “You’re okay.”

His gaze was frantic until he spotted me, then his face fell and he staggered back. “Cooper. This is a dream.”

“Sure is, my friend.” I reached out and pulled a sunflower out of the ground, then held it to him. “I don’t know what that other dream was about, but I know what it was about, understand?”

He nodded, his pale gaze locked on the flower.

I squeezed his shoulder. “Royce asked me to come.”

“Royce?” He flinched and looked up to me. “He is speaking?”