Chapter 26: Waking Up From The Nightmare
"Gyaa!!"
The moment consciousness returned, Kivas bolted upright, gasping, drenched in cold sweat. Her breath came in ragged pulls as if her lungs had only just remembered how to work.
The dream world had vanished, but the echoes of the centipede Voidling's screams still reverberated through her bones.
Her hands trembled faintly. Her skin felt feverish. Yet underneath the physical exhaustion, there was something cleaner—an absence.
"You're awake," Samael's voice murmured above her. "How do you feel?"
Kivas blinked rapidly and only then noticed the warmth beneath her cheek. Her head rested against Samael's lap, the former dragon's fingers calmly brushing strands of hair from her forehead.
Kivas stared in blank confusion at the fabric beneath her face, registering the texture with alarming clarity.
"...Am I still dreaming?" she muttered.
Samael tilted her head slightly. "No. You're quite real. And quite damp."
Kivas groaned, hiding half her face in the fabric. "You didn't think to put a pillow under me?"
"I tried," Samael said. "You rejected it mid-spasm and dove directly into my thigh."