I didn't know when sleep finally took me—only that I fell asleep with both fists gripping Hugo's shirt, my face buried against the warmth of his chest. Even in unconsciousness, my body trembled. Every time I drifted too deep, a flash of that rift returned: the darkness, the howls, the shapes crawling from the void. My breath quickened, my body twitched, and each time, Hugo tightened his hold around me, rubbing slow circles on my back.
At some point in the night, Hugo shifted, but he never loosened his embrace. His arm stayed under my neck, the other around my waist like he was anchoring me to the world. I clung to him instinctively, afraid that if I let go, the rift would swallow me again.
The world was silent.
Too silent.
It wasn't until warm sunlight bled softly through the curtains that my eyelids fluttered open. For a moment, I didn't know where I was. My breath hitched, panic rising like a cold tide.
Darkness. Screams. The crushing pressure of ghostly hands—
