SELENEA’S POV
I lingered in that hazy place between dreams and waking, where the world felt soft and heavy, like a blanket I couldn’t shake off. My body sank into the mattress, legs twisted in the sheets, the faint scent of cedar and musk curling around me. Morning light slipped through the cracks of my eyelids, but I wasn’t ready to face it. Not yet. Sleep held me tight, a jealous lover refusing to let go.
Then I felt it—a shift in the air, a whisper of warmth that didn’t belong. My skin prickled, tiny hairs rising along my arms. Someone was there. Close. Too close. My breath hitched, caught somewhere between my chest and throat, but my eyes stayed shut, stubborn and heavy. I didn’t need to see to know. That instinct, sharp as a blade, hummed through me—an old gift from my Tenebrous blo
