Sleep never comes.
Not truly.
Samantha lies on a bed that feels far too soft for a prison.
A massive chamber carved from black stone.
Ancient furniture.
Heavy velvet curtains.
Silver candlelight flickering across polished walls.
A balcony overlooking an endless mountain range wrapped in darkness.
No bars.
No chains.
No guards standing directly at the door.
And somehow—
That’s more unsettling than a dungeon.
Because Benjamin doesn’t fear her escaping.
He doesn’t fear her attacking.
He doesn’t fear anything.
That realization keeps Samantha awake long after the fortress falls silent.
She sits near the balcony, knees drawn up slightly, staring at the moon.
Same moon.
Same sky.
Same world.
And yet—
She has never felt farther from Jack.
The thought alone makes her chest ti
