"Cass!"

I swivel around as the familiar voice breaks into the moment.

Logan's hands are on my arms, and he looks frantic.

"What is it?" I'm knitting my brows as I try to read exactly what's going on in his eyes.

"You didn't show up," he whispers, shaking his head in disbelief.

"What do you mean?"

"Molly called me, saying she'd left messages all over for you. Jeez, Cass. You were supposed to present research together to your boss, but you never showed up. It was a big deal, she said. So then I went to your place, but of course you weren't there—"

"Shit." I feel like a balloon is deflating within my stomach. The research Moll and I had been working on for months. Finally, we were going to make that big presentation, but my personal drama had wiped it clear out of my mind. "She must want to kill me, and I can't say I blame her." I run a palm over my forehead, mopping up sweat.

"She seemed more worried than pissed off," Logan says, shrugging.

"Did she say if she made the presentation? If she managed..." I ask the question tentatively, as if I almost don't want the answer.

"Yeah, it went OK, and she made up some excuse about your grandma being sick. And that made me think of going to your grandma's place to see if I could find you there. But by that time, it was after midnight, and I wasn't going to knock on the door so late. I still took a walk over, though. I figured maybe I'd see some light on in the room you use."

"But you did end up knocking on the door -- and that's how you found out I was here, right?"

"Yeah, only because I saw your mom and grandma out in the backyard, with that string of Christmas lights on."

"You didn't tell Gran I screwed up and missed my presentation, I hope."

"Of course not! I said we were supposed to meet for a drink, but I thought it slipped your mind. She wouldn't be as upset about that."

He breaks into a smile, and I would have too in normal times. But now, as my gaze returns to where it started, I'm realizing my much-sought-after opportunity is gone. Because the guy from my dreams is gone. I squint through the dimness and scan the place even though I'm convinced he's no longer there.

And then anger and disappointment collide, and I'm glaring at Logan as if he's responsible for this whole mess.

"I'm not a baby, you know," I snap. "You didn't have to go all over town looking for me."

"Missing an important presentation for work isn't like you, Cass. It was pretty logical for me to be worried."

I roll my eyes. OK, so it's good to have someone care about you. But I didn't want to be treated like a kid either. "Look, with all that's been going on, something had to give."

"Yeah, but, Cass, you can't let this weakening powers thing interfere with real life. You could lose your job. Get your priorities straight."

So now he's treating me like a baby and disregarding the importance of the other part of my life.

"I don't need you to tell me what I should and shouldn't do." I don't even take the time to glare at him but instead push my way by and slip through the crowd until I'm outside, inhaling cool fresh air that suddenly seems so refreshing. I don't take the time to revel in the moment though. Instead, I take off, running faster than I've done in years, until I'm unlocking my front door and sheltering myself inside.

**

Once I've showered and pulled on my pajamas, I slouch down on the couch and grab my phone. It's three in the morning, but I'm about as wide awake as if it were three in the afternoon. I erase Moll's messages, then send her a text to apologize and say troubles with my mother and gran had pulled me off track. Moll and my other co-workers knew my mother was "sick" and lived with Gran, but they didn't know the "sickness" stemmed from something most people would consider extraordinary.

I'm about to turn off my phone when another message comes in, an e-mail with a familiar address. It's the confirmation that I will be working on an assignment for James. I read it carefully, noting the details as usual. And then I freeze. The deadline, the day when I absolutely have to deliver the soulmate memory is the day before the dream-catcher/dream-stealer competition starts. My heart is pounding a mile a minute, and I don't know why. Shouldn't this be good news? The idea of getting this soulmate thing taken care of ahead of the big competition. No. It would only be good news if I actually was successful in my quest. My powers would be back to their normal level or better. If I failed, they would be gone completely.

I stand up and pace, hands still cradling my phone, eyes still on the message. If only, if only the deadline was after the start of the competition, at least I would be sure of one thing: I'd go into the game with some powers, with some chance of success. This thought sticks with me as I reluctantly make my way into the bedroom and settle restlessly against my pillow.

When did I fall asleep? It seems like I didn't at all.

And now I'm facing the man I was supposed to meet earlier that night. We're outside Luna, alone in the shadows. How did I get here? I don't remember getting dressed and walking back downtown. I glance down and see I'm not wearing pajamas, but instead I'm wearing my coat, with jeans and black ballerina flats peeking out below. Then I look back up, into his eyes.

"I'm Sky," he says. "We were supposed to meet in there, a few hours ago... but something got in the way."

"Wait a minute, don't we know each other? I mean, you've called me 'Cass' before. In the other dreams."

He smiles, and that dimple I noticed before reappears.

"True, but I figured a new formal introduction couldn't hurt. You have so much on your mind these days you might have forgotten the past."

"Yeah, like my presentation at work." I grin, half embarrassed, half amused.

"Not the end of the world."

"Why did you leave?" I ask. "I mean, at Luna when our eyes met and then... Why didn't you wait until my conversation was over? We could have met after that."

"It wasn't the right time. And I'm not the kind of guy who listens in to private conversations, waiting until they transform into non-private conversations so that I can make an entrance."

"So you left."

He nods.

"All right. I get it. But now we're here together. You've got the floor. So how about if you tell me why you've been in my dreams and how you can help me on my assignment? This search for the soulmate memory. And you might want to tell me how you know Lyra too."

"Lots of questions."

"I'm waiting," I say.

"I am too."

"For what?"

Seagulls are squawking in my ears, and I squeeze my eyes shut as if I can somehow fight what's coming and stay right there to get the answers that keep escaping me. I tune out the sound, tell myself it's only noise in the distance. But Sky's face is fading even as his words linger in my ears. "I am too." Yeah, he's waiting to tell me whatever he's supposed to tell me. And then there's something about Nol. I can't exactly hear what Sky said. But I do hear him pronounce her name.

My eyes open wide, and I'm staring at the ceiling above my head. With one hand, I reach over and silence the gulls. Then I drag myself into the bathroom and splash water on my face.

A dream. Of course, yet again, it was a dream. And now, a lot of it is already lost in the murkiness of my mind. But I don't feel as miserable about the whole thing as I would have imagined. Because I have an element. As minor as it might seem, I've taken one step forward. I know his name. Sky. I repeat it over and over in my head. It feels familiar. But I'm convinced I've never come across someone with that name before. Not even casually in school or through an acquaintance. Well, it doesn't matter. What does matter is I have the name of this person in my dreams. And then his voice is back, pronouncing my mother's name. I stop as my hand reaches for my toothbrush, and it falls into the sink.

Nol. Sky was trying to point me in her direction. Does Nol have more to tell me?