Sophia’s POV
The world blurred in and out of focus as I drifted between consciousness and darkness. Pain pulsed through every nerve in my body, sharp and unforgiving.
I wasn’t dead.
Not yet.
Because the last thing I saw before the darkness swallowed me was **Nicholas**, his orb-green eyes blazing with fury, his body **braced for war**.
And I knew—whoever had come for me was about to regret it.
Now, I was here.
But where was **here**?
The scent of **pine and burning embers** filled my lungs—a scent that was both foreign and **dangerously familiar**. My body was too heavy to move, my mind sluggish, but I forced my eyelids to flutter open.
I turned my head, my breath catching as I took in my surroundings.
This wasn’t a hospital.
The room was **vast, elegant ye
