Lilian’s POV
“Open your eyes, Lilian. Slowly. The light might be sharp.”
The voice was a deep, gravelly rumble that vibrated not just in the air, but directly against my bones. Groaning, I buried my face deeper into the mountain of down pillows, reluctant to open my eyes because, for the first time in twenty-four years, I was completely, blissfully, and impossibly warm.
The heavy, marrow-deep chill that had haunted me since childhood, the Hollow that left my fingers numb and my lips pale, was entirely gone. In its place, a steady, radiant heat hummed through my veins, wrapping around my heart like a thick woolen blanket.
I felt profoundly rested, as if I had slept for a decade and woken with every muscle miraculously repaired, but as my consciousness finally surfaced through the linger
