Alyssa’s POV
The sound comes out of the blue—low, deep, dragging against the floor of the earth.
I jolt awake, heart pounding in my chest like war drums.
My mouth is dry. My limbs feel heavy like I haven’t moved in days. I push myself up, blinking the sleep out of my eyes, and I see him.
Zev.
He’s standing at the window, peering through a narrow crack in the wooden frame, his body stiff, shoulders tense.
“What was that?” I whisper, rushing to his side.
“Be quiet,” he hisses without looking at me. “Keep still. Maybe it’ll leave.”
“Maybe what will leave?” I ask, and my voice cracks. There’s fear threading into my words, and I can feel it rising in my chest. “Zev?”
“I told you,” he mutters, eyes never leaving the shadows outside. “There are worse things out here, Alyssa. Things that don’t belong in any world.”
He unsheathes a blade—long, dark steel that glints with a faint blue sheen. I’ve never seen him like this. Not Zev. He’s always so sure of himself, cocky even. He charges into tr
