My body felt like it was made of lead, every muscle heavy and unresponsive, my eyelids so weighed down I could barely lift them. When I tried to open my eyes, a sudden burst of light made me wince, forcing them shut again, my head throbbing with the effort. I waited, breathing slowly, and after a few seconds, I tried again, my eyes fluttering open to stare at the ceiling. It looked familiar, the faint patterns stirring a memory, and as my brain struggled to pull itself together, I realized it was the same ceiling I’d seen before, in a room in Iron Claw. My heart sank a little—am I back here again? I asked myself, confusion swirling in my mind as I tried to make sense of it. A soft shuffling sound came from my side, and I turned my neck, wincing at the stiffness, to see Silvia sitting up from a small bed nearby. Her hair was mussed, her eyes heavy with sleep, like she’d been dozing there, keeping watch over me. “Ashley,” she called, her voice soft but urgent as she moved toward me, her
Last Updated : 2025-10-07 Read more