ElaineWaking up was not a triumphant return to the light.It was quite the opposite.A complete, agonizing ascent through layers of gray, sticky mud that were choking me with force. My senses returned in jumbled fragments: first, the sharp smell of antiseptic and dried lavender; then, a rhythmic, metallic beep hammering behind my temples; and finally, a warm, firm weight enveloping my right hand.Part of me already knew what was coming, and I was terrified of it.I opened my eyes, and the white hospital ceiling blinded me for a moment.I blinked, trying to focus my vision, but my mind felt like a book with its middle pages torn out. I remembered leaving Arsel’s mansion; I remembered the laughter… and then, nothing.A black, icy abyss opened up where my most recent memory should have been, and it terrified me so much that an intense fear settled in my throat.“Where am I?” I asked, and my voice sounded like the rustling of dry leaves.My tongue felt dry, and I tried to sit up, but a v
Last Updated : 2026-05-15 Read more