I dreamt of Zacharias even as he lay next to me.
I couldn’t quite understand what had happened in the dream of him—perhaps nothing had happened at all. What I remembered was him smiling at me one moment, frowning at me the next, and his teeth bared back in a snarl as his hand reached up to strike me. Just before he hit me I awoke as though I was falling to my death. I wondered if the force of his hit would’ve been enough to make my heart combust.
It was early yet when I jerked myself awake, gasping as I opened my eyes and came face to face with Zacharias who was still fast sleep. My room was dark, the indigo sky yet to give rise to the lemon-yellow sun. My nocturnal vision kicked in quickly, however, allowing me to make out all the contours of his face.
I had almost forgotten how regall
