Mitchell POV
The bedroom air is thick with the scent of crushed lilies and raw heat.
I wake up with my chest heaving. The mattress is damp beneath my back. My muscles ache with a deep, hollow exhaustion that goes straight to the bone. Next to me, Adriel shifts. His breathing is loud and jagged in the dark.
I look down at my own body. My trousers are gone. My skin is covered in a sheen of cold sweat.
Every single inch of my flesh feels raw.
"Wake up," a voice says.
The sound cuts through the heavy silence of the room. It does not come from the bed. It comes from the shadow near the wardrobe.
I bolt upright. Beside me, Adriel snaps awake at the exact same second. His shoulders tense. His jaw drops open as he stares ahead.
Betty steps out of the dark.
The light from the corridor hits
