Adam lifts me the moment he feels my legs weaken, his movements instinctive and fierce. His arms wrap around me with a strength that steadies my trembling breath. My cheek brushes the warm line of his throat, and for a brief second I hold on to that warmth like it is the only real thing left in this place.
Because everything else is wrong.
The world around us is silent. Not the kind of quiet found in forests just before dawn. Not even the quiet of a room where no one breathes. This is a silence so absolute it presses against my ears, a silence that feels like it was carved into existence and left untouched for centuries.
No wind. Not even the smallest breath of it.
No scent. Not even dust or stone.
No heartbeat except ours.
The stillness is unnatural in a way that makes my skin crawl
