I was conscious.
I knew I was.
I could hear everything. Feel everything.
But my body…
It wasn’t listening.
It felt like I was floating—like my soul was slowly slipping out of me, drifting farther and farther away no matter how hard I tried to hold on. There was a strange weightlessness, like I was suspended between two worlds—one I was trying to cling to… and one that was trying to claim me.
How long had it been?
Minutes?
Hours?
It felt endless.
The last thing I remembered was Donnie’s voice—panicked, loud—echoing in my ears as he carried me. The frantic rush of footsteps. The sharp scent of antiseptic.
Alex’s clinic.
‘Freya! Freya! Where are you?!’
Diane’s voice broke through the darkness.
I almost cried in relief.
‘I’m here!’ I answered immediately. ‘I’m here, Diane! I can
