Thoughts

Callie woke with Jardan gently slapping her face. She blinked against the bright sun and grasped his arm that held her tight against him.

“You okay?” He ran a hand down the side of her face.

She hesitantly nodded and took in her surroundings. They were still at the edge of the barren land. She lay with her upper body on Jardan’s lap. The others surrounded them.

Indigo hunched down next to her. “You okay, sweetie?”

Callie saw the worry in her mother’s eyes. She gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m fine. Just…” Her gaze looked beyond them to the mountain. “It reached out to me.”

“What happened?” Jardan asked.

“Nothing really. Just reached out to me. As soon as it touched my mind, I guess I passed out.” She pushed herself up. “It knows I’m here.”

“Just you?”

Callie looked up at Stephen before she took Jardan’s arm and stood up on shaky legs. “I think so. It looked at me.”

“That could work to our advantage.”