Tales & Time (Lost Time Academy #1)(35)

"Danger. Danger. Danger," the ravens repeat again and again until I can only hold my hands to my ears as I fall to my knees, begging them to stop, but my voice is soundless.

"Madi..." I hear Quin say through the ravens, but soon he is lost, and there is nothing but cold, dead grass and screaming ravens as blackness takes over.





Chapter 21





Quin shouts my name, again and again as ravens rush around me, squawking and screaming. The sound is so painful, so never ending and all I want is for it to stop. It never does…





"Come on, Sleepy, you need to wake up now," I hear Sin whisper to me as his fingers slide through my hair and skim against my cheek. “Come back to me, baby.”

"I'm going to get the healers again. She isn't waking up as they promised, and I’m concerned," Tobias shouts, and the slamming of a door makes me snap my eyes open in a rush, a deep gasp escaping my lips before I start coughing. Pain shoots down the one side of my head, reminding me in a rush of everything that happened. I glance at the white walls of the unfamiliar room, and the small bed I’m in with white sheets. There are curtains at each side of my bed which are pushed back, and they make me realise this must be a hospital of some sorts. I can feel my arms are wrapped up in bandages, and something is wrapped around my head. I’m sure I look a mess.

"Quin," I whisper as the dreams rush into my mind, even as I'm looking up at Sin who is leaning over me. He looks hurt for a second, but then it quickly changes to worry as he helps me sit up. Tavvy is sitting at the end of the bed, a relieved grin spreading across her face. Knox and Noah are in the room sitting in chairs, and they quickly rush over as I sit up.

"Did I win?" I ask, needing to know if it was all worth it.

"Roger passed out first, so yes, but you weren't the last one standing in class to win the prize though," Sin answers me, and the others just smile at me.

"Who won?" I ask, curious, but it doesn’t matter. I wanted to prove to everyone and myself that I could beat Roger, even if I need to work on my falling game.

"I did," Tavvy says with a big smile, and I grin at her. "The brothers refused to fight and went with you to the medic bay, leaving only Ella and me as the strongest left. I beat her, so I finally won fight class!"

"You seem pretty happy I knocked myself out," I remark, though I am happy for her.

"Well...I was worried about you, but Miss A wouldn’t let me leave class, so I made the most of it. At least one good thing came from it—I am going shopping, and I will get you a ballgown dress," she says happily.

"A ballgown dress for what?" I ask as Sin offers me a glass of water to drink as my voice is pretty croaky.

"The Lost Time Academy Ball, of course," Tavvy tells me. "I'm sure you can find yourself a date. It's in three months’ time," she says very excitedly, and I can't help but smile at her, even though I’m not a fan of balls. I prefer secret parties and drinking, which I doubt this ball will have. I frown when my head hurts as I move to sit up more and place my hand on the lump covered by a bandage.

"How are you feeling?" Noah asks, gently picking up my other hand and holding it. He lifts my hand and kisses the back as he locks eyes with me. He doesn’t seem to care that Knox and Sin are watching, and I can’t even look at them to see their reactions.

"Just sore. I had a weird dream that felt so real," I explain to him. “The dream felt more than real. It was scarier than that fall from the ceiling.”

"Another nightmare?" Tavvy asks, looking concerned.

"Nightmares?" Knox asks, and I remember that I haven't told them about my dreams yet.

"Yes, but this was different in a way I can't explain," I answer Tavvy and glance at Knox. “I have dreams and have done for a long time.

"Tell us about it, Sleepy," Sin lightly suggests.

"Every dream, there are crows, hundreds of them that circle me and squawk so loudly my ears hurt. The ground is always cold, but this time it was freezing, and snow was falling from the sky. That's not the strange thing though; this time, Quin was there. Quin walked through the crows that parted out of the way for him like he commanded them to do so. He didn't look like Quin though, he almost looked..." I drift off because I’m not sure how to even explain how he looked.

"Looked like what?" Sin asks.

"Dead. His skin was so pale that it had a tinge of blue to it. I'm scared for him, guys," I say, needing them to understand everything, because as much as I can tell them about the dream, I can’t explain how worried and panicked it makes me feel. I can’t explain how it felt to see Quin like that and not be able to just run to him, hold him close to me.

"We could ask our parents to look into how Quin is doing, if it would make you feel better," Knox suggests, but he is looking at Sin, who nods in agreement.

"Do you think the dreams could be real?" I ask them all. There is silence until Noah decides to answer me.

"Your power is sleep, and anytime you have dreams or nightmares, we should not ignore them," Noah says. "We never ignore our powers, it isn't right to do so. Our powers are there to protect us, and your dreams are likely warnings."

"Why would they warn me of Quin?" I ask, not understanding that.