Aria’s POV
Present tense
The air is thick when I wake up. Not literally—but something about the way it settles in my chest feels like weight. I sit up slowly, blinking past the bleariness in my eyes. My throat is dry, my body still sore. But I’m breathing. I’m here. I survived.
The sunlight cuts through the blinds in thin lines, warm against my legs under the covers. Outside the hospital room, I hear the muffled shuffle of nurses, the occasional beep from machines nearby.
I glance toward the chair next to my bed, expecting to see Lucian still curled up in it. But it’s empty now. The blanket folded neatly. A bottle of water on the bedside table. He must have stepped out.
Part of me misses him already.
There’s a knock on the door before it slowly opens.
“Hey.”
Clary’s voice fills the
