Diana POV
I didn’t sleep. Not really. My muscles throbbed like overstrung wires, and my leg pulsed with a deep, hot burn every time I moved. Worse than the pain, though, was the image of Kael's car lurking in the dark which played on repeat behind my eyelids.
Morning came, but it didn’t bring peace.
Sunlight sliced through the curtain, harsh and sterile. It didn’t feel warm. It felt interrogative, like a spotlight turned on a suspect mid-lie.
I sat up slowly, groaning as my limbs protested. The bruises on my thighs had ripened into ugly purples and angry reds, swirling like storm clouds under my skin. Every movement came with a low, throbbing ache, a brutal reminder of last night’s training.
But I was alive.
My mind? Still sharp. Maybe sharper than ever.
I took a quick bath, more li
