Page 88 of Hallows End

“Come on in,” I mutter and close the door behind him.

Giles scans the room, his eyes narrow, and when he spots Breena in the kitchen, he rushes to her, turns her to him, and yanks her into his arms.

“Fucking hell.” His voice shakes, similarly to the way hers did last night.

Breena’s hands come up to awkwardly pat his back.

“Um, hi. Are you okay?”

His face is buried in her neck now, and he’s holding on for dear life. I can see that he’s trembling.

Lorelei and I share a look.

“No,” Giles says at last, answering her. “I’m not okay at all. Gods, I watched you die.”

“What?” Lorelei stands, and the three of us stare at him as he reluctantly pulls away from Breena and starts pacing the floor.

“In my dream last night, I watched you fuckingdie, and I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t do anything about it. Every time I ran toward you, something slammed me back. Blocked me. And you were screaming, reaching out for me.”

He wipes a shaking hand over his mouth.

“You were reaching for me,” he says again and clears his throat. He looks terrified, pale and hollow-eyed. “And you kept screaming for me to help you, and I justcouldn’t. Stars, I’ve never felt so damn worthless.”

“I’m okay,” Breena assures him and reaches for his hand, giving it a squeeze.

Lorelei and I share another look.

“But I had the same dream.”

Giles’s face whips up to hers. “You did?”

“Yes, and it terrified me.”

“She crawled into bed with Nera and me,” I confirm. Nera raises his head at the mention of his name.

Giles wraps his arms around Breena again, holding her close. “I wish you’d come tome.”

Breena’s wide, green eyes find ours, and she mouths,Why would I?

Lorelei rolls her eyes.

“Okay, loverboy,” Lorelei says. “Sit, eat some of the best pancakes you’ve ever had, and let’s all calm down.”

“I haven’t been calm since about two this morning.” He lets Breena go and paces to the window to look out at the backyard. “It wasreal.There was nothing dreamlike about it.”

Breena doesn’t say anything, she just flips the pancakes and begins brewing up a mocha for Giles.

“Itwasa dream,” Breena says at last in her sweet way. “Giles, I’m right here, and although I had the same dream, it wasn’t real.”

He shakes his head but sits at the table and takes a bite of a pancake, then his stunned eyes lift to Breena’s.

“Holy shit, Breena.”

“What’s wrong?” Lorelei asks.

“Thisisthe best pancake I’ve ever eaten.”

“Told you,” Lorelei says smugly. “Breena’s an ace in the kitchen. And just wait until you get that mocha.”