Stella
I fell asleep the way I'd been doing everything lately—half out of spite.
Caspian wanted me to rest. My mother wanted me to rest. Even Serenity, who usually treated my stubbornness like a mild inconvenience, had been hovering close all evening with that quiet, watchful calm that meant she was worried.
But my body didn't feel like it deserved rest.
Not after the day I'd had. Not after the way Abby's birthday had fallen out of my mind like a dropped plate, shattering somewhere I couldn't reach. Not after sitting in a meeting that wasn't real, then hearing Caspian tell me I'd said things I couldn't remember saying.
I couldn't sleep because I was tired.
I slept because I ran out of ways to stay upright.
Abby went down easily, curled into her blanket with her thumb in her mouth an
