Chapter 2

Just sleep.

When I opened my eyes again, sunlight was already spilling through the curtains.

I stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.

Then I remembered the palace.

The fire.

The girl.

I frowned.

For some reason, the dream still felt unusually clear.

Most dreams disappeared the moment I woke up. This one hadn't.

I could still remember the girl's face.

I could still remember the sound of the clock.

And I could still remember the way she had looked toward those doors.

I reached for my phone.

7:42 a.m.

"Great."

I sat up.

My first class started in less than an hour.

I got dressed quickly, grabbed my bag, and hurried out of my room.

Daniel was already in the kitchen.

He looked at me over his coffee.

  "You look terrible." He said

  "Good morning to you too."

  "I'm serious." He said

  "I didn't sleep well."

He raised an eyebrow. "Late studying?"

  "Something like that."

I grabbed a piece of toast.

Daniel watched me for a moment.

  "You sure you're okay?" He said 

  "Yeah."

I smiled. "Just tired."

He didn't look completely convinced, but he didn't push.

That was one thing I appreciated about him.

He knew when to leave things alone.

I finished my toast and headed for the door.

  "See you later."

"Don't forget your assignment." He said

I stopped. "...I hate you."

Daniel laughed. "You'd hate me more if you forgot it."

He was right.

Unfortunately.

University was exactly as exhausting as usual.

By lunchtime, I'd almost forgotten about the dream.

Almost.

I was sitting with a few classmates when someone mentioned an old European palace she'd seen in a documentary.

That was enough.

The image came back immediately.

The burning walls.

The enormous staircase.

The girl.

I stared down at my food.

One of my friends noticed. "You okay?"

  "Yeah."I poked at my food with my fork. "I had a weird dream last night."

  "What kind?" My friend asked

I hesitated. "A palace."

She smiled. "That's actually kind of cool."

  "It was on fire."

  "Less cool." She said

I laughed. "Exactly."

The conversation moved on.

I tried to do the same.

And for the rest of the day, I didn't think about the dream again.

Or at least, I tried not to.

That evening, I came home later than usual.

Daniel was sitting on the couch again, reading.

I dropped my bag beside the door.

He glanced at me. "How was your day?"

  "Long."

  "That's not an answer." He said

  "It's the only answer I have."

He smiled.

I walked toward my room.

Then stopped.

For no reason I could explain, I looked back at him.

  "Daniel?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Do you ever have dreams you remember really clearly?"

He lowered his book slightly. "Sometimes."

  "Never mind."

I turned away.

I wasn't ready to tell him.

Not yet.

I didn't even know what I would tell him.

I dreamed about a girl I've never met in a palace that was burning?

That sounded ridiculous.

So I kept it to myself.

That night, I went to bed.

And this time, when sleep came...

I found myself somewhere completely different.