Chapter 86: Mind Playing Tricks

The soft murmur of voices from inside Zena’s home drifted out into the morning air. The sun had only just begun to filter through the mist curling low over Nirvana’s brick houses, staining everything in a muted hue of gold.

Sophia sat perched just outside the home, arms wrapped around her knees, staring down at her boots as if they could give her answers. Her heart was still thudding from what she’d just seen inside.

As much as she tried to convince herself that what shed seen wasn’t real and couldn’t be real, she couldn’t shake off the uncanny feeling.

Orion stepped out a moment later, his tall frame filling the doorway. He closed it softly behind him, muttering low instructions to Rita to summon help for the burial preparations. His voice was calm and steady, the voice of an Alpha holding his people together even in death. Only when he turned did his eyes land on Sophia. She was pale, her shoulders tight, the look on her face somewhere between fear and confusion.

He crossed the short space between them and crouched so he was eye-level with her. His usual commanding presence softened; his eyes searched hers with genuine concern.

"I shouldn’t have let you go in there," he said quietly. "Seeing a body like that can be... unsettling, especially if it’s your first time seeing one."

"No." Sophia shook her head sharply before he could finish. "It’s not that." Her voice came out strained, like it was squeezing past something lodged in her chest. "It’s..." She hesitated, pressing a palm to her temple. "Have you ever had the feeling that something already happened? Like... you’ve seen it before but it’s only happening now?"

Orion’s brows furrowed. "You mean déjà vu?"

She looked at him, her eyes wide. "Yes. But no. It’s... different. I dreamt of this. Of her. Of everything in that room. It wasn’t just a flicker of familiarity, it was the same. The words she spoke to Rita, the way the light hit her bed, the smell of the water jar beside her. It’s exactly what I saw last night when I was asleep."

Orion tilted his head, trying to process. "So you dreamt of it? That’s not surprising news though." His mouth quirked faintly, an attempt at humor easing the tension. "I once told Ronan he was going to trip and fall into a ditch because I’d dreamt it. And the next day, during patrol, he did. I still tease him about it."

Sophia didn’t laugh. Her hands were trembling now. "I’m serious. This isn’t a coincidence. I didn’t just ’dream’ it. I saw it before it happened."

Orion’s expression sobered again, but there was still a layer of practicality in his tone. "Dreams can feel that way sometimes. You’re in a new environment, your mind’s absorbing new sights, smells, people... it’s easy for it to stitch things together in strange ways. Maybe you heard Rita mention Zena without realizing, maybe your subconscious..."

"I didn’t!" Sophia cut him off, her voice sharper than she meant. She took a breath, her chest rising and falling. "I didn’t know her name. I didn’t even know this house existed." Her eyes searched his, desperate for him to believe her. "Doesn’t that strike you as odd?"

Orion held her gaze for a long moment, then exhaled through his nose. "Sophia..." His voice was gentle now, but firm. "You’ve been through a lot. Anyone would be rattled. Sometimes a dream is just a dream. You don’t need to overthink it."

She stared at him, her throat tight. For a heartbeat she thought she might scream, or cry, or both. But his steady presence, the weight of his gaze, the way his hand rested lightly on her shoulder, anchored her enough to swallow the lump.

He straightened slightly, glancing toward the woods that bordered Nirvana’s compound. "Come on."

"What?"

"Come with me. You need air. A change of scenery and something to calm you down. So I’ll take you somewhere."

Her brows drew together. "Where?"

"You’ll see." His tone left no room for argument but carried no force either; it was more like an invitation.

Sophia hesitated but then rose to her feet. Orion led the way, his long strides carrying them across the cobbled path between brick houses. The scent of cooking herbs drifted from open windows. Bells chimed faintly from the direction of the outer shrine, families beginning their offerings for the Festival of the Fallen. The air itself felt heavier with remembrance.

They passed the training grounds which was empty except for a few scattered practice spears leaning against the fence. "Told you no one would be here," Orion murmured.

Sophia’s lips pressed together. She followed him in silence, her mind spinning. Each brick wall, each swaying lantern they passed seemed to sharpen her sense of being caught between two realities, the one she’d dreamt and the one she was walking through now.

The houses thinned as they neared the far edge of the compound. Trees rose taller here, their trunks thick and moss-lined, branches reaching like arms into the sky. The path turned to packed earth, winding between clusters of ferns. A low steam hung in the air ahead.

Sophia sniffed. The smell was faintly mineral, warm. "What is this place?"

"You’ll see," Orion said again, softer this time.

Another turn and the trees opened into a clearing. Before them lay a small spring, its surface glassy and opaque, enveloped in constant mist. Steam curled up from the water, dancing with the shafts of sunlight breaking through the canopy. Smooth stones lined its edge, some marked with old claw grooves as if their kind had once rested there in their shifted forms.

"It’s..." Sophia trailed off, stepping closer. "Beautiful. What is it?"

Orion’s mouth twitched into the ghost of a smile. "A hot spring. Most people think of it as a place to soak sore muscles, but I come here when I need to think. And it’s a bonus cause the water’s always warm, which is rare for Nirvana."

"Why?" She asked curiously.

Orion shrugged his shoulders. "We don’t know. Eldric thinks there’s something that caused it, something we haven’t discovered yet and maybe it is but it isn’t harming any of us so..." He trailed off as Sophia crouched by the edge.

She dipped a finger in. It was almost hot and was like a bath but soothing, and not scalding. Ripples spread across the surface, breaking the mirrored reflection of the trees overhead.

"It’s..." She searched for the right word. "Peaceful."

"That’s the point." Orion lowered himself to sit on a smooth boulder nearby. His presence was still imposing, but here, with the mist curling around him and his hands resting loosely on his knees, he seemed more man than Alpha. "When I was younger, I used to sneak out here. Even now, when the world feels like it’s clawing at the pack from all sides... this place helps. This is my second favourite place."

"What’s the first?" She asked him.

"It’s a tree and it’s not in the compound. I can show you some other time." He told her.

Sophia hugged her knees, gazing into the water. The steam clung to her hair, softening her sharp edges. "It’s strange," she murmured.

"Right?" Orion asked her. "Want to take a dip?" He asked her.

She laughed. "No way."

Orion laughed then started taking off his shoes.

"What are you doing?" She asked him.

"Taking a dip since you don’t want to. Believe me, this will help cool you down a bit." Orion said to her. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

She laughed lightly and Orion turned to her. "Now that’s a sound I’d love to hear." He told her.

Sophia ignored him because if she didn’t then she’d have to explain that feeling in her chest. The one she got from just little words like this from him. Instead, she watched as he removed his boots, rolled up his trousers and dipped his legs into the warm water. He urged Sophia to do same and she did it too but with caution.

"I don’t see how this classifies as taking a dip." She told him.

"But it’s something." He told her with a laugh.

A calm silence washed over the both of them before Sophia turned to him.

She tilted her head at him. "You really think it’s just coincidence? That what I saw about Zena doesn’t mean anything?"

Orion’s gaze slid back to the water, his expression unreadable. "I think sometimes our minds make patterns out of chaos. And sometimes..." He trailed off, shrugging one shoulder. "Sometimes we just don’t know the answer. But until we do, it’s better not to let it eat you alive."

Sophia stared at him. He wasn’t dismissing her exactly; he was trying to ground her. But part of her wanted him to say he believed her, that what she saw meant something more.

They sat together at the edge of the spring, their reflections blurring and reforming in the water. The mist curled between them like a living thing.

For a while neither spoke. Birds called somewhere high in the trees. A breeze shifted the leaves, carrying the faint toll of shrine bells.

Sophia closed her eyes. The warmth of the spring, the steadiness of Orion’s presence beside her, the weight of everything she couldn’t explain, it all swirled inside her like the mist itself. She didn’t know if she’d ever understand the dream, or Zena, or this strange thread tying her to Nirvana’s secrets. But for the first time since waking up that morning, she felt her breath start to even out.

Orion watched her quietly, then looked back at the water. He had no idea what mysteries Sophia carried but seeing her distraught and confused was unsettling to him. Being calm instead, was better.