I woke up feeling like I'd been crushed under a boulder. My chest felt heavy—too heavy.
For a second, my half-awake brain genuinely considered the horrifying possibility that a cow had somehow wandered into my room and decided to nap on me.
But as soon as I pried one eye open, the words died halfway out of my mouth.
Because it wasn't a cow.
It was Belle.
Fast asleep. On me.
Her head rested on my chest, her long black hair spilling everywhere like an ink spill across parchment. The faint rise and fall of her breathing brushed against my skin. Her ever-present blindfold was still in place, perfectly neat even in sleep—because of course it was. Belle could probably wrestle a dragon and still somehow keep that blindfold flawless.
I blinked. Once. Twice.
Then I sighed.
"…Of course."
What was she even doing in my room?
