Until she spoke, Lester mostly thought that he was dreaming. It would have been a new dream, a spectral Sloane crossing the branches when he was asleep and climbing into his bed, but it made the most sense as a dream. But then she spoke, and the spell was broken, and Lester knew that she was actually here.

He rolled towards her and closed the window. "What's wrong?" Lester asked, because something had to be wrong — Sloane didn't just come in here when he was asleep. He had half an impulse to bunch the sheets as a barrier between them, lest he be embarrassed in the morning, but in this moment her clear upset was more important.