I wake with a start, my heart hammering against my ribs before I remember where I am. The room is dim, moonlight filtering through gauzy curtains and casting silver patterns across unfamiliar furniture. For one blessed moment, my mind is blank, then memories crash back like a wave: Lucian's hands on my throat, books tumbling from shelves, the sickening crack of his neck breaking under Zane's grip.
I press my palms against my eyes, as if I could physically push the images away, but they're burned into my brain now, permanent as the bruises that mottle my skin.
The bedside clock reads 10:00 PM. I've been asleep for hours, my body demanding rest to heal after the attack. My fingers drift to my neck, probing gently. The skin is tender but not as painful as it should be. I know I should be gr
