Callie’s POV
I woke before dawn.
Again.
But this time, it wasn’t a nightmare that pulled me from sleep.
It was the silence.
I slowly opened my eyes while the gray darkness of the motel still hung around the room, and for several seconds I couldn’t understand what felt different.
Then I realized.
My mind was calm.
No voices.
No whispers beneath my skin.
No symbols burning behind my eyes.
Nothing.
Bellona was still there, asleep somewhere warm inside me, but even she seemed peaceful for the first time since all of this began.
The third pulse…
still existed.
It always existed.
But it felt distant.
Deeply asleep.
As though something had forced it to retreat.
My breath caught in my chest while I remained still between the sleeping bodies of Asher and Jonas.
Asher still held
