Rose woke with a scream.
The darkness clung to her like smoke, heavy and suffocating. Her breath came in short gasps, chest rising and falling as if she had clawed her way back from drowning. Power surged under her skin, wild and unstable, crackling like the edge of a storm.
Alex was at her side in an instant, hands glowing with warm flame, wings flashing into existence before fading into embers. “Rose!” he gripped her shoulders, his voice tight. “You’re safe. You’re here. What happened?”
Across the bed, Marcus stirred and stood, his golden eyes already narrowed, calculating. The Dragon Lord moved with a predator’s poise, every motion measured. “Was it another vision?”
Before she could speak, the door creaked open and Leo entered without hesitation, drawn by instinct. His silver hair w
