Riana drifted into sleep without meaning to.
One moment she was sitting on the sofa in her office lounge, paperwork spread messily across the coffee table. The next, darkness folded over her senses like a curtain falling too fast.
Then, pain.
Sharp. Burning. Absolute.
She was standing somewhere unfamiliar yet terrifyingly intimate. Her breath came out in a wet gasp as she looked down.
A silver dagger.
It was buried in her abdomen, the hilt slick with blood. Her blood… dripping down her hands, staining the ground beneath her feet. Her knees buckled. The world tilted.
“No… no, no…” she tried to speak, but her voice came out broken, distant, like it belonged to someone else.
She felt herself falling.
Before she hit the ground, arms caught her. Strong arm, desperat
