Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future

Chapter 18

I wait as patiently as I can for Lenora to finish giving Kas a hug. She finally lets her go and kisses her on the cheek.

"I mean it. No more scaring me," she wags her finger

at Kas.

"I promise, Lenora. No more scaring you," Kas smiles back with a nod before turning to me. She takes her hand out of mine and brushes her fingers on the side of my face.

"All I want to do is pull you into my lap and hold you all night, Baby, but I need you to tell us about your vision before you forget. Can you do that?"

"Yeah b-but," she looks at me with watery eyes, "Can you tell me if James is okay? Was that real or part of my vision?"

"It was real, Kas. Don't worry, he'll recover. We can take you to the hospital wing to see him tomorrow. Okay?" Lenora squeezes her hand in reassurance.

Kas nods, looking at her hands for a moment. She collects herself so she can concentrate. When she's ready, she takes a ragged breath and tells us about what she saw.

"I think I saw some of the people who kidnapped me. There was a woman that looked just like Lenora, but maybe she was a little older? Or something about her seemed old, even though she looked young. She knew my name. She called me Iokaste. There was also a woman with dreadlocks and red eyes. She mind linked me, but it wasn't a real mind link. I could actually see her words in my mind."

Kas squeezes her eyes closed for a minute, then opens her eyes and looks at the nightstand. She grabs her journal and pen and scribbles something down on a page.

'Essai dynatós. Empistéfsou ta énstiktá sou.'

trade a confused look. Kas has never remembered this much detail from a vision before, and this message in a foreign language is pretty specific. She only knows the

vision?" a confused look crosses Kas's face, "but I-I'm pretty sure it was the past. Not the future, like it usually is. It seems like it was a past

over her sternum while she talks. Her eyes aren't really fixed on

mate bond?" I ask as gently as possible, but in reality, I'm feeling a tinge of

more like something connected our essences to each other,” her voice is

asks, smoothing Kas's partially dry hair. "Yeah, I think she was important to me. She told me she would always be there for me and when she died, it hurt so bad. It made me have this huge burst of energy come out of my body.

floodgates are about to burst. She held it together long enough to tell us about her vision, but now she needs my support. I pull her into my lap and lean my head on top of hers. As soon as I fold my arms

her we all wish never existed. I know it will never go away completely. It will always be a part

Lenora's cell phone ding. She looks down at

"Is that Musu?"

your instincts',” she says with a knit brow

mate.

last sympathetic look before kissing the

me, just send a mind link. I'll be back in

I mouth the

leave.

my attention back to Kas, thinking about the translation. Clearly, someone else has as much faith in her as I do. I just

from me slightly and gives me a pleading

face, hoping I can

What if she wasn't allowed to talk to

to be around other prisoners, unless they have developed Stockholm Syndrome. Then the captors