dreams whisper through silence by mae 226

Chapter 226 

The pack noticed, too. I didn’t expect them to, but they did. And they told me as such, too. Hardly a day went by that some person or another didn’t mention how hard I was working or how impressed they were. Even members of the staff who had looked down upon me in my past life now answered all of my requests with 

respect. 

Some mentioned that they never expected me to step up to the plate like this. Those comments, although coming from a place of kindness, stung the most. Because they were a bitter reminder of my past life and how I hadn’t stepped up to the plate then, not really, and it had ended with my death. 

I tried not to dwell on that, though, and just stayed focused on the present. And on kicking Vivian’s ass at the festival. 

The days leading up to the festival passed quickly, leaving me exhausted by the time I laid my head on my pillow at night but smiling. I spent my mornings planning, my afternoons putting things into action, and my evenings thinking about the next day. Shockingly, I didn’t go to the academy at all during that time, although I had plans to get back as soon as possible. 

Finally, on a bright and sunny Saturday, the day of the festival came. The morning was already hot and golden, promising an even hotter and brighter afternoon. Perfect weather for a festival. I had been up since the crack of dawn already, directing the last-minute efforts, 

Vivian, for her part, was on the other end of the field, doing the same. We had put up a tall stack of hay bales down the center of the field forming a wall. I tried not to look at her side of the field. 

The air was full of the sound of construction and voices. Vendors were setting up their booths and the staff was ensuring everything was running smoothly. I hadn’t seen Dominic yet that morning, but I could already picture the look on his face when he arrived and found not one festival but two, and it sent a pang of satisfaction through me. 

I was standing on the upper rungs of a ladder, hanging a banner near the entrance of my side, when one of the staff approached. She was holding a box containing various last-minute decorations such as balloons, streamers, and little mason jars with fairy lights inside. 

“Luna?” she asked, craning her neck to look up at me and holding the box up a little. “Where should these 

r go?” 

I looked down and was about to answer when it happened. 

My foot slipped. 

I gasped, scrabbling for purchase, but it was no use. My fist closed around empty air, and my arms went windmilling at the sides as I pitched backward. The ladder wobbled, pitching the other way. 

For a few moments, time slowed. I felt the rush of air around me, saw the sky blue and bright above me, and thought to myself: 

This is ironic, isn’t it? Dying from an assassin’s blade in my past life, only to die falling off a ladder in this 

one. 

I might have laughed, had I not been too busy shouting. 

1/2 

+30 Banus 

Time sped up again, and the ground rushed closer. I shut my eyes, bracing for impact. 

But it never came. Not with the ground, at least. 

Rather, I felt a pair of arms shoot out under me, catching me. I was suddenly cradled against a firm and familiar chest, and when I looked up, a pair of striking eyes was looking down at fne, caught between laughter, confusion, and frustration. 

Dominic.