Chapter 82 Dream-Link with Miguel
POV: Luna
That night, I dream.
But it's different from normal dreams. Sharper. More real.
I know immediately that the goddess is involved.
I'm standing in Silverwood. But not the Silverwood I know.
This version is brighter. Softer. The buildings glow with gentle light. The trees are silver instead of green. The sky is neither day nor night but something beautiful in between.
The otherworld.
I turn slowly, taking it in.
And then I see him.
Miguel.
He's standing by the Moon Circle, looking exactly as I remember. Alive. Whole. At peace.
"Luna," he says, and his voice breaks me.
I run to him. Close the distance in seconds.
When I reach him, I don't know what to do. Hug him? Touch him? Make sure he's real?
"It's okay," he says gently. "I'm real. Well, as real as I can be here."
"Where is here?"
"The otherworld. The place between life and death." He smiles. "The goddess let me visit you. Just this once. To say the things I couldn't say before."
Tears stream down my face. "I'm so sorry. For everything. For not being strong enough to save you. For loving you when it put you in danger."
"Stop." He takes my hands in his. "Luna, you didn't kill me. The rogues did. And even knowing how it ended, I wouldn't change loving you. Not for anything."
"But you died because of me."
"I lived because of you. You made my life bigger. More magical. More meaningful than it ever would have been otherwise." His grip tightens. "Don't carry guilt for my death. Carry gratitude for what we had."
"I don't know how to do that."
"You will. In time." He looks around the ethereal Silverwood. "I'm at peace here, Luna. I'm not suffering. Not scared. I'm just... waiting. For whatever comes next."
"I miss you so much."
"I know. And you'll always miss me a little. That's okay. That's how love works." He cups my face gently. "But you have to move forward. Have to keep living. Keep fighting. Keep becoming the person you're meant to be."
"What if I don't know who that is?"
"Then you figure it out. With your friends. With Ryder. With whoever else enters your life." He smiles sadly. "You're not betraying my memory by caring about other people. By maybe even loving other people someday."
"It feels like I am."
"It's not. I promise." His form flickers slightly. "The goddess is calling me back. Our time is almost up."
"No. Not yet. Please."
"Luna, listen to me. The trials you're facing? The prophecy? The power growing inside you? You can handle it. You're stronger than you think. Braver than you believe." He pulls me into a hug. "And you're not alone. Even when you feel like you are, you're not."
I cling to him, trying to memorize everything. His warmth. His scent. His presence.
"I love you," I whisper.
"I love you too. Always will." He pulls back, his form growing more transparent. "Now wake up. Go be the amazing person I know you are."
"Miguel—"
"Wake up, Luna. It's time."
The otherworld fades.
Miguel fades.
And I wake up in my bed at Silverwood, tears streaming down my face.
But something is different.
The crushing grief I've been carrying has shifted. Not gone. But lighter somehow.
Miguel is at peace. He told me so himself.
I don't have to carry guilt for his death anymore.
Just gratitude for his life.
I sit up, wiping my eyes.
Nova is asleep in her bed across the room. The moon is shining through our window.
And my mark is glowing faintly.
Not with power. With something softer. Like acknowledgment.
Then I hear it.
The goddess's voice. Whisper-quiet in my mind.
"Daughter of Eclipse."
"I'm here," I say silently.
"The otherworld granted you this gift. A moment with the one you lost. But such gifts come with consequences."
"What consequences?"
"The line between worlds has thinned for you. You walked the path between life and death. That path remembers. It will call to you." Her voice is serious. "Do not answer that call lightly. To visit the otherworld again would require sacrifice. And I will not always be there to guide you safely back."
A chill runs through me.
"What kind of sacrifice?"
"That depends on why you wish to visit. But know this: the dead are at peace. Disturbing them serves no purpose except your own comfort. And comfort is not worth the price the otherworld demands."
I think about Miguel. About how peaceful he looked. How ready he was to move on.
"I understand," I say. "I won't try to visit him again."
"Good. Remember him. Honor him. But let him rest." The goddess's presence begins to fade. "Your first trial approaches. Be ready. It will test your heart in ways you cannot imagine."
"When?"
"Soon."
And then she's gone.
I'm alone in the dark room with Nova's soft breathing and the moonlight streaming through the window.
My first trial is coming.
Trial of the heart.
And I have no idea what that means.
But Miguel's words echo in my mind.
"You're stronger than you think. Braver than you believe. And you're not alone."
I lie back down, my hand over my heart.
For the first time since he died, I feel like maybe I can actually survive this.
Maybe I can face whatever trials the goddess has planned.
Maybe I can become the person Miguel believed I could be.
The person I need to be.
I close my eyes and let sleep take me again.
This time, there are no dreams.
Just rest.
And peace.
And the faint hope that maybe, just maybe, everything is going to be okay.