Ariane:
I gasped, bolting upright in bed. My breath caught, sharp and panicked, as freezing water soaked through my clothes and clung to my skin like frost. My body locked up, every nerve lit with shock, the cold biting deep into my bones.
“What the actual—!” I spluttered, flailing, blinking against the ice-cold assault. Water dripped from my hair in miserable rivulets, soaking my sheets, shirt, and soul. I looked like a half-drowned cat clawing for dignity.
A laugh—loud and unrepentant—rattled from the shadows of my room.
Ridge.
He stood smugly in the corner, hoisting an empty metal bucket like it was some sacred relic. Victory glinted in his wild eyes.
“Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty,” he announced, his grin as obnoxious as ever.
Beside him, Rook leaned casually on a training sta
