Chapter 17: When Dreams Taste Like Her
Aria didn't remember falling asleep.
One second she was curled up on the stained plush suede bench in the back of the gallery, Selene's coat draped over her, her body still flushed and restless from their last words in the dark.
"Don't look at me like that," Aria had whispered, eyes half - lidded as Selene leaned against the edge of the bench.
"Like what?" Selene had smirked, tilting her head. "Like you're the most dangerously kissable thing in this city?"
Aria had rolled her eyes, but her blush betrayed her. "You're annoying."
"You're obsessed," Selene shot back, lips twitching.
"In your dreams," Aria had murmured, but she'd been smiling when she said it, fingers brushing Selene's without thinking.
Aria's body finally surrendered to sleep, breath evening out as the tension faded from her limbs. One hand twitched softly against the mattress, fingers curling near her collarbone, as if reaching for something even in unconsciousness. Her lashes fluttered once, then stilled.
She dropped under.
No warning. No drift.
Just a plunge.
Then —
She was walking barefoot across a marble floor, cool and impossibly white, moonlight pouring in from nowhere. Her steps didn't echo, but she felt the pressure of movement anyway — like the floor remembered her weight. The space was endless. No doors. No walls. Just open marble stretching in all directions like the world had been wiped clean and left for her to define.
She didn't know how she got there.
She just was.
Bare, unburdened, not even the ache of the world clinging to her skin.
She looked down. Her body was untouched — no bruises, no marks from the world she came from. Like she'd stepped out of time.
Somehow, she knew.
This wasn't a dream.
Not the way others dreamt.
This place was real in a way most people would never understand. Not illusion. Not fantasy. Something in - between.
And she was walking it.
Her steps left no sound, but ripples shimmered faintly beneath her feet — like the marble was water, like the space was alive. The light shifted with her movements. Soft. Blue - white. Almost holy, but colder.
She paused.
Something was watching.
Not close. Not breathing down her neck. But distant — like a gaze threaded through the moonlight itself.
Her mouth parted slightly. No words came.
Still, she kept moving.
The air carried a weightless stillness, but it wasn't empty. It was full of something waiting.
A mirror rose in the distance, tall and silver, shaped like it had been carved out of memory. It didn't reflect the marble or the sky. Just her.
She stopped in front of it.
Her reflection blinked back — but not in sync. A second ahead. Just enough to make her skin prickle. Its eyes weren't hers. Not entirely. Faint lavender bled into the whites, glowing like something ancient was waking beneath her bones.
She raised her hand. The reflection beat her to it.
Then it smiled — barely.
"You walked in without knocking," a voice said, not from the mirror. Not from behind her. It simply was. Deep, smooth, celestial in tone. Female. Confident.
Aria didn't move. But the air shifted.
Something stepped into the scene — at the very edge. Not touching. Not grounded. A presence more than a form.
Athena.
Watching.
Not intervening.
Aria didn't know her name yet, not in this life. But the weight of her gaze sent a shiver down Aria's spine. Like being seen by the moon itself.
"You don't know what you are yet," the voice murmured, pleased, not pitying.
The mirror shimmered — then cracked.
Just once.
A thin fracture from corner to corner.
Aria reached toward it instinctively. The moment her fingers brushed the glass —
She saw flashes. Images. Not memories. Not hers.
A woman standing in fire. A voice crying out in a language that didn't exist. Wings —massive and dark — unfolding against the void. A lock twisting open. The taste of lightning on her tongue.
Her knees buckled.
But she didn't fall.
The marble caught her. The dream held her.
"You're close," the voice whispered, softer now. "But not ready."
Aria's lips parted. She meant to ask something — what am I? what is this place? — but her throat was tight. Her voice stayed buried beneath her ribs.
The reflection in the mirror blinked once more, then disappeared entirely.
The marble began to fade.
The moonlight thinned.
And the world began pulling her back.
But Athena stayed.
Still watching.
Still smiling — like she knew exactly how this would end.
Aria whimpered as she stirred awake, then dozed off again… only to find herself back in that place.
She wasn't alone.
"Athena," she whispered, even before she saw her.
The name bloomed in her mouth like something sacred. The shadows parted, and there she was — her first lover. Her first everything. Long braids fell over bare shoulders, her eyes glowing that unnatural gold that never felt quite human. The white silk that clung to her frame slipped down easily when she moved closer.
"I missed you," Aria whispered, heart thudding.
Athena didn't answer. She just reached for her.
Clothes melted away like smoke.
Hands found skin without hesitation, without modesty. Athena pressed her to the smooth stone wall, lips grazing her collarbone, trailing lower. Aria's breath hitched. Her back arched as her lover's mouth moved between her legs, a flick of tongue that sent stars behind her eyes.
It wasn't slow.
It was desperate.
Rhythms changed — faster, then teasingly slow — Athena holding Aria's thighs apart with a strength that felt ancient. Her name left Aria's lips again and again, voice cracked, wet, shaking. She forgot where she was. Forgot everything except the pulse of want and the pressure building and the fingers slipping inside her as Athena's mouth returned to hers.
"I'll come back for you," Athena murmured between kisses. "Even if I become mortal. I'll find you. I'll be with you."
Aria cried out when she came, spine curling, chest heaving, nails clawing at the dreamscape.
"I love you," she said. "I'll wait. I'll find you too. I —"
The kiss shifted.
It was colder.
Real.
Aria blinked — startled, breathless, lips still moving.
And her eyes snapped open to find herself on Selene.
Literally.
Straddling her waist. Hands tangled in silver - blonde hair. Her thighs wrapped around Selene's hips, bodies pressed so close the heat between them felt like fire and ice colliding.
Selene's hands had caught her by reflex — one on her waist, the other gripping her wrist.
Aria froze, horrified. "Oh my God."
Selene's mouth was still parted.
They were kissing.
She was kissing Selene. Or had been. Or —
"What the hell was that?" Selene's voice was rough, low, stunned but amused. "You sleepwalk into people's mouths now?"
"I — I was dreaming — I swear — I didn't know—" Aria scrambled to climb off, face burning so fast it hurt. "Damn it. Selene, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean —"
Selene didn't let go.
She pulled her right back down by the waist and kissed her again.
Deeper.
Slower.
Aria melted into it before she could stop herself, moaning softly into the pressure, lips parting instinctively. Selene was cold, intoxicating, pulling her under like a winter tide. Her tongue teased the edge of Aria's, her fingers stroking the back of her neck.
When they finally parted, Aria's brain had forgotten how to form a coherent thought.
Selene smirked, voice a shade too smug. "Don't apologize for that. Ever."
Aria made a noise that was somewhere between a gasp and a laugh. "Okay, but maybe warn me next time before I wake up making out with you."
Selene arched a brow. "You were the one climbing me like a jungle gym."
"I was asleep!"
"You were moaning in your sleep. Calling my name. Not gonna lie, it was kind of hot."
Aria slapped her shoulder, blushing furiously. "Liar!"
Selene caught her wrist again and kissed the inside of it before letting her go. "Fine. Maybe not your exact words. But close enough."
"God." Aria dropped her head into her hands and groaned. "This is a new low. Dream molesting the hot immortal I barely know."
"You weren't dreaming of me, were you?" Selene's voice was quieter now. Curious. Careful.
Aria hesitated. Her heart thudded.
She shook her head. "No… It was someone else. From…before. I don't know how I remember her."
Selene didn't press. She just gave a nod like she already knew.
"We don't have to talk about it," she said.
"I dreamed her name was Athena," Aria whispered anyway. "She said she was going to find a way to be mortal. To come back for me."
Selene's expression flickered. Not with jealousy. With something heavier. Like recognition.
"Names like that have power," she murmured. "Be careful."
They sat like that for a while, tangled in the middle of the gallery. Outside, sirens were still wailing in the distance — brief and scattered now, like people had stopped expecting help to come.
Aria leaned against Selene's shoulder, trying to slow her pulse. "Are we safe here?"
"For now," Selene said. "The place is sealed. The roamers don't move much during the day. And they don't have memory. They don't know what they've lost."
Aria nodded, then hesitated. She reached for her phone, which still had enough charge to show three notifications.
Jules [2:47 a.m.]:
omw to a safer sector, west perimeter. saw something fcked. gonna send u a clip.
Jules [2:48 a.m.]:
[video attached]
Jules [2:50 a.m.]:
dont trust ANYONE. roamers aren't the only thing eating ppl out here.
Aria clicked the video and watched it with Selene leaning over her shoulder. It was shaky, filmed from behind a car window. The figure lurching through the street wasn't just a roamer — it was fast. Muscles twitching like they didn't belong under its skin, face torn at the mouth from trying to speak or scream. It tore someone's throat open in seconds. The blood was everywhere.
"Damn," Aria whispered, recoiling.
Selene narrowed her eyes. "That's a second - stage turn. Those don't happen randomly." She hesitated, watching the way its body twitched. "It looks like an Altered — maybe — but the pupils aren't fully black. So it can't be." Her voice dropped. "If roamers are hitting second - stage turns this fast… they're stronger in this timeline."
"You think someone did that?"
"I think someone's trying something."
Aria tapped out a quick reply, fingers trembling slightly.
Aria [2:56 a.m.]:
Saw the vid. We're laying low. Be careful. Stay armed. Humans are worse when they know there's no law left. Save food. Don't trust smiles and kindness. Don't follow crowds.
She stared at the blinking cursor, then added:
Aria [2:58 a.m.]:
I love you. My friend. Please don't die. Keep the phone even the battery died.
She hit send and set the phone down, letting her breath leave her in one long exhale.
Selene leaned her head on Aria's shoulder. "You really care about her."
"She's my last real anchor," Aria said quietly. "I don't want to lose her too." Her throat tightened. "Naomi lied to me about everything. Used me. After that, all I had was Jules. My adoptive parents… they're gone. Dead. And I don't even know who my real ones were. Jules is the only person left who ever felt like home."
"You won't," Selene murmured. "I'll make sure of it."
Aria looked at her. "How?"
Selene met her gaze without flinching. "Because you're mine now."
Aria's breath caught.
It wasn't possessive. It wasn't a threat.
It was a promise.
A quiet, grounding declaration like a lighthouse in the storm.
"I'm not yours," Aria said softly. "Not yet."
Selene's lips brushed hers again, featherlight. "Then stay. And make me earn it."
They stayed curled up together for a long time, tucked into the remnants of a forgotten world, the rot of oil paint and dust clinging to the air. The gallery felt like a sealed snow globe — one of the last places not yet swallowed by chaos.
Aria traced the edge of Selene's jaw with her thumb. "Hey."
"Yeah?"
"I like your mouth."
Selene snorted. "That was very romantic."
"I also like what you do with it."
Selene laughed into her palm. "Say that again when you're not half - delirious from dream sex with a goddess."
"Make me."
Selene kissed her again, and this time, it was slower. Deeper. More patient. Like she wasn't trying to stake a claim, just… taste her.
When they pulled apart, Aria was breathless again. "You're evil."
"You like it."
They curled under the coat together, knees touching, hands linked.
Outside, the wind picked up.
Somewhere in the distance, something screamed. Not quite human. Not quite animal.
Selene kissed Aria's temple.
"Get some sleep," she whispered. "I'll keep watch."
Aria closed her eyes. "Only if you're here when I wake up."
"I'm not going anywhere."
And for once, that felt like a truth the world couldn't undo.