The scent of pine and smoke and something older than time.
Kai.
The name rips through my mind like lightning and I jolt upright?—
—the room tilts violently, my stomach heaves, and my vision fractures into bright shards.
I collapse back onto the pillow, breath stuttering.
Not real.
It wasn’t real.
It couldn’t have been real.
My hands tremble as I lift them to my face.
My palms are clammy.
My fingertips numb.
I force my eyes open slowly, carefully, letting the blur settle into the familiar soft cream and champagne tones of our bedroom. Everything looks too bright. Too quiet. Too… untouched.
No footprints.
No shadows.
No sign of him.
Just the aftermath ripping through my nerves… and the taste of copper still lingering on my lip.
I touch my mouth.
Flinch.
It’s tender.
Sore.
Like someone’s teeth had?—
No.
No.
No, that was a dream—it had to be.
“Noah?” I call out, voice hoarse and fragile.
Silence answers me.
The bedside clock reads 09:42.
Late morning.
I must’ve slept through hours.
Entire worlds.
