Disclaimer: I don't own TLC. These lovely characters belong to the fantastic Marissa Meyer.
The nightmares had come back. None of them were ever completely without the hauntings, but they had become more rare as things had slowly settled into a groove. In addition, the knowledge that all of them were okay, together in the farmhouse, made it easier to find a sleep without demons. But now…
The walls were bleeding again. And this time they didn't stop. Red just kept spilling from the wood walls of Winter's room, coating the floor, staining the sheets. It reached her toes, her waist. She was screaming. She saw a flash of a very different red; Scarlet, opening the door. Winter's voice rose to a hysterical shriek of warning, but it was too late. Scarlet, being swept away in a wave of blood.
One last strangled sob escaped her, then the sticky red tide rose above her head and flooded her throat.
Winter sat up, gasping, twisted in the sheets. Her arms flailed for a moment before her mind finally realized she was back in the real world and her exhausted body collapsed onto soaked sheets. She brought a hand up to push back her unruly curls, but instead met water. She hadn't even realized she was crying.
"Winter?" A small form lingered at the door. "Um, it's-it's Cress."
Winter took in another shuddering breath.
"You were screaming," Cress said. "I… I wanted to make sure you're okay. I mean, I know you're not, because you know, screaming in the middle of the night, but, um, you know what I mean."
Winter managed to sit up, curling into a tight ball, hugging her legs to her chest.
Cress sat down on the side of the bed. "It's him, isn't it," she said quietly. "Or rather, the not him that's brought the nightmares back." Her hand now clasped Winter's clammy one. "When they stopped letting me travel, which was utterly stupid by the way, and they still needed Thorne to keep flying, there was… there was a moment when they sent him right through an area that was kind of a war zone. He went silent for a few days." Cress was silent for a moment. "I couldn't stop the images that invaded my head. They were different each time, but they always ended with the Rampion going down, Thorne dying, and me being alone."
Winter's tears had subsided, but the shaking hadn't.
"But it was all fine. He came back, and now they're finally letting him stay home. It's gonna be the same with Jacin."
Winter looked gratefully up at her friend, who gave her a tiny, tired smile and a one-armed hug.
"I know it doesn't really help much," she said, "but we're all here." She pulled back as Winter took a deep breath. "Besides," she added with a half grin, "you know better than any of us that Jacin Clay would find a way to come back from the dead if it meant coming back to you."
A smile finally broke out on Winter's face. "He is rather stubborn."
"He can even out-stubborn Thorne, which is impressive. And yes, I know that's not a word, but I'm making it one. He'll come back. Thorne managed to make it back despite having to go through take offs and landings alone. That's kind of a miracle. So if that was possible, so is Jacin's return."
Winter laughed, though it was a bit breathless and hiccuping. "Well, Thorne had a very compelling reason to make it back," she said, gesturing to Cress's swollen abdomen. "Two reasons."
"And Jacin has a reason too." With one last smile and a supportive hand squeeze, Cress hauled herself up and out of the room, shutting the door softly behind her. Winter sighed, then lay down again, not bothering to dry the tears from her face. But she knew, eventually, she'd be okay.
It had been two weeks. Two weeks of little to no sleep, only complete exhaustion forcing Winter to collapse in bed. She awoke once again in terror, whimpering, as yet another dark dreamscape yanked her into the unknown future. Only this time, gentle, strong hands held her face as she struggled to calm her breathing. She was staring into a pair of glassy blue eyes, at the curve of a face she knew as well as her own.
She buried her face in his shoulder, crying (she seemed to be doing a lot of that lately). His hands were on her back, smoothing down her spine, pressing her closer into his embrace. His face was hidden in her hair. "You're back," she whispered. "Early."
His arms tightened around her. "I couldn't stand fighting without you by my side."
When he pulled back to look at her, she saw tears, like crystals, falling from his eyes too. When she reached to wipe them away, he leaned in and kissed her. Nothing else happened; for a moment, the universe ceased to exist. Then, as she broke the kiss and snuggled safely back into his arms, a gentle wave of sleep fell over them both; a night that shone with stars and constellations instead of clouds and dust.