Free Foretold (Daughters of Saraqael Book Three) by Raine Thomas

kind of purple flowers. Heather maybe. It smelled nice. Like spring. The sun was nearly directly overhead. There were huge clouds in the sky. A forest on one side and a cliff of some kind on the other. I felt my hair move in the breeze. I thought it was the most vivid dream I’d ever had.”
    “You recognized it as a dream right away?” Malukali asked.
    “Yes.”
    “What made you realize it?”
    “Caleb wasn’t there. He’s always near.”
    If she hadn’t been so intent on Malukali, she would have seen how her words impacted him. Nothing else she might have said would have struck him more powerfully. He turned his gaze to the table, not wanting to see any of the looks his family was sending his way. That would push him right over the edge.
    “And when you realized it was a dream?” Malukali prompted in her soothing voice.
    “I thought how dreams can be fun, be a kind of escape. And then…” she paused. Blinked. “He spoke.”
    They all knew who “he” was. “What did he say?”
    “‘What are you trying to escape, Skye?’”
    “Okay. What happened then?”
    “I turned to face him. I said, ‘Hello, Grolkinei.’”
    Caleb sent a thought to Gabriel, knowing he would circulate it among the others. She said that out loud, too. That’s when I woke up.
    Gabriel nodded.
    “How did you feel?” Malukali asked.
    Skye paused. “Surprised. And I thought his black clothes were clichéd.”
    Caleb supposed he would have to wait until later to get an explanation for that comment. But he saw Amber’s lips twitch in an obviously unexpected flash of amusement.
    “Then he said something about how I looked just like Olivia, and he figured Amber must look just like us, too. He said that nature must have decided to distinguish us through our eye color and the colors of our markings. He seemed very interested in this.” She paused again. Her grip tightened on Malukali’s hands. “That was when I realized I couldn’t respond.”
    “Your body was paralyzed?” Malukali asked with a thoughtful frown.
    “Yes. And my voice. He said that Layla was causing my paralysis, but I didn’t see her. He said that they had been experimenting to try and get him into my dreams, and tonight they succeeded. He knew there are protections in place, but they got around them somehow.”
    Malukali exchanged a brief look with Knorbis. It was when he saw the guilt and devastation in that look that Caleb suddenly understood. His eyes widened in shock.
    Don’t , Gabriel ordered vehemently. This isn’t the time.
    He would never disobey his leader, but he couldn’t stop himself from catching Gabriel’s gaze and thinking, But they left her vulnerable!
    We’ll discuss it later.
    Unable to refuse the direct order, he swallowed his fury and turned back to Skye. He deliberately avoided Knorbis’ gaze, knowing the Wymzesti elder was trying to get his silent attention.
    “I wanted to move away from him,” Skye was saying in a voice that seemed to grow smaller. “But I couldn’t. He touched my hair. I could smell soap on his hands. It was so vivid. He said that Layla didn’t like me. She wanted to make me feel as helpless as possible.”
    There was another pause. Malukali prompted, “All right. Then what happened?”
    “I used the techniques you and Knorbis taught me. I was able to push free of Layla’s influence for a moment. I called out for Caleb. I thought he might be able to hear me.”
    Again, Caleb felt the stares from everyone around him. Again, he ignored them. They already knew she had also shouted his name in reality. It was apparent that her instincts had again proven accurate.
    Now she shifted in agitation. There was another soft glow of dark green light and she calmed. “I wasn’t able to bring forth my light. I guess Layla kept it suppressed somehow. And I couldn’t resist her for long. I really only managed to call for Caleb and get a very short distance away before she got me again.” Her gaze faltered and dropped to