Ayla's POV
I was awake before I opened my eyes.
Warmth seeped into my bones, gentle and steady, the kind you didn't question but just breathed into. For a moment I floated somewhere between sleep and morning, caught in the space where dreams hadn't fully faded but reality hadn't crashed back in yet.
The warmth was the first thing I registered. Not my surroundings, not the pale light pushing through the curtains. Just warmth, solid and sure, and a quiet heartbeat beneath my ear.
Soren.
Memory came back in broken pieces. The hallway. The hand that grabbed me before I could react. The shove sideways, the door slamming, and the click of the lock. The dark pressing in from every direction. Panic growing as thick as water in my lungs. The door that wouldn't open no matter how hard I hit it.
