Chapter 105: [105] The Stars Are Different Here
Xavier jolted awake from another nightmare about ice wolves with crystal fur. His head throbbed with pain so intense it felt like someone was driving a railroad spike through his skull.
"Fucking hell," he whispered, pressing his palms against his temples. The pain ebbed slightly, then returned with greater force.
He’d been in this world for three days now, and the headaches only grew worse. They came in waves, sometimes bearable, other times—like now—nearly crippling. Sleep had become almost impossible.
Xavier swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up, trying not to disturb Rachel. He glanced at her sleeping form on the room’s other bed. She lay on her side, one arm tucked under her pillow. Her black hair spilled across the pillow, and her face, usually so guarded, looked almost peaceful.
When she wasn’t being an asshole or spouting cryptic bullshit, she could be sort of cute.
Xavier shook his head, immediately regretting the movement as pain lanced through his skull. What the hell was he thinking? Rachel was possibly the most frustrating person he’d ever met, and he’d met some real pieces of work in his time. She refused to give straight answers about anything—who she was, why she’d rescued him, what she knew about this world.
The only useful thing she’d done was pay for their room. When Xavier had asked where she got the money, she’d just given him that blank stare of hers and said, "People pay for certainty in uncertain times."
Whatever that meant.
Xavier stood and walked to the window, careful to avoid the creaky floorboard near the center of the room. He rubbed at the frost with his sleeve until he could see outside. Vykengard slept under a blanket of snow, though guards still patrolled the streets with lanterns that cast long shadows on the white ground. Above, the night sky blazed with more stars than Xavier had ever seen, and ribbons of green and purple light danced between them.
His thoughts drifted to the others who had been pulled through the gate with him. Alexander Shepard, Ashley Martin, Margaret Richardson, Nolan Traore, Naomi Phillips.
And Calypso. Always back to Calypso.