Where were we?
The words scraped out of my throat weakly as my eyes fluttered open.
The world swam, darkness bleeding into shape slowly, reluctantly, like it resented being forced into clarity. Stone loomed overhead—jagged, ancient, slick with moisture that caught faint, wavering light. A cave.
Not a small one.
This place was vast, cathedral-wide, its ceiling stretching so high it disappeared into shadow. The mountain itself felt like it had swallowed us whole.
Cold air pressed against my skin, heavy with the scent of earth and minerals, threaded with something sharper beneath it. Old smoke. Older magic.
My body felt wrong. Heavy. Empty. As if something vital had been torn out of me and replaced with fire and ash.
I tried to move, tried to push myself upright, but my arms trembled uselessly, barely responding. I was still in Darius' arms.
"Why…" My voice barely carried. "Why do I feel like this?"
The question never finished settling before pain slammed into me.
