~TESSA'S POV~
The first thing I became aware of was the cold.
Not the harmless chill that kissed your skin at dawn or made you pull a blanket tighter around your shoulders, but the cruel kind—sharp, invasive. It sank beneath my skin, wormed its way through muscle and marrow, and settled deep in my bones like it had claimed them. It wasn't leaving anytime soon.
My lashes fluttered weakly. My head throbbed, a relentless, pulsing ache, as though someone had cracked it open and never bothered to stitch the pieces back together. Every thought felt delayed, sluggish, wrapped in fog.
A groan slipped out of me before I could stop it.
"Easy," a voice said calmly.
The sound cut through the haze like a blade.
I stiffened instantly.
My eyes flew open.
