Maria.
I was drowning, sinking deeper into the thick, suffocating layers of my own subconsciousness. It felt endless, like being trapped beneath dark waters with no surface in sight. That strange gift, no, that cursed power of mine, had dragged me here again, locking me away at the very moment I needed my body the most.
I hated this place.
I could hear everything.
That was the cruelty of it.
Davian's voice cut through the darkness with terrifying clarity, each word reaching me as though my ears were wide open instead of my body lying broken and unresponsive on the floor. I heard his commands, sharp and cold, heard the authority in his tone as he instructed the guards. Every sentence tightened around my heart like a noose, squeezing the air from my lungs.
Fear surged violently inside me.
