Veronica POV
Veronica floated in darkness.
Whispers brushed against her ears—sharp, fragmented.
"...’She’s redeemable still..."
"Barely..."
"It will not be easy..."
"...She is Siren-born, after all."
She tried to open her eyes, tried to speak—but her body refused to obey.
Siren-born. That word echoed through her skull like a bell toll. The rogue. The forest. The power surging through her in the club...
Her thoughts spiraled, fighting against the heaviness in her limbs, the pressure weighing on her chest. She clawed toward consciousness, toward the sound of her own breath.
And finally—
Veronica gasped, jerking upright in bed.
She looked around wildly, heart pounding.
Light. Familiar furniture. A half-burnt lavender candle.
She blinked. She was back in the cramped little room
