Air slammed into my lungs like I’d been drowning.
I gasped—sharp, violent, desperate—my whole body lurching forward before something firm, warm, and familiar caught me.
A hand.
His hand.
Zephyrus.
For a second, everything was noise.
A roaring in my ears.
A crackle of lightning somewhere in my memory.
Salt water. Pressure. Darkness. Pain—so much pain I thought my body would shatter under it.
And then—warmth.
A glow of gold.
A whisper of something soft and ancient brushes across my mind.
A silver light curling through the darkness like gentle fingers tugging me upward.
My eyes fluttered open.
The room was dim—shadows flickering from scattered candles. Someone was asleep in a corner. Someone else was breathing heavily nearby.
But none of that mattered.
Because Zephyrus was rig
