Evaline:
One moment there was only pitch darkness - cold, endless, suffocating - and the next, I gasped, sitting up with a violent jolt.
Air rushed into my lungs as if I'd been drowning for hours. My hand flew to my chest, pressing over my heart, only to freeze when I felt it... an unbearable emptiness.
It wasn't pain. It wasn't even physical. It was worse.
It felt like something... or someone... had reached right through my chest and pulled my heart out, leaving behind a hole where it once beat. My pulse was there, my body alive, but the hollowness within me made no sense. My chest rose and fell too fast, my fingers trembling against my skin as I tried to understand what had happened.
And then…
"Evaline…"
The familiar voice snapped my head up. Kieran.
He was sitting beside me, his expression drawn and pale, eyes shadowed with exhaustion. He reached for my hand, his touch gentle but desperate. "Hey, easy… just breathe, alright?"
