Aurelia fell through darkness long enough to forget the sensation of falling.
There was no wind.
No sound.
No sense of distance.
Only the crushing pressure of a void that seemed to swallow thought itself.
Then suddenly she struck something solid.
Her body hit cold stone with a force that should have shattered bone.
But instead, the darkness inside her shuddered, softened the impact, and spread across the ground like smoke.
Aurelia groaned, rolling onto her side. For several breaths, she simply lay there, waiting for the world to stop spinning. Her heart pounded against her ribs like it was trying to escape.
“Kane…” she whispered hoarsely, reaching toward a sky that no longer existed above her.
Nothing answered.
Nothing echoed.
Only silence.
She forced herself upright slowly, p
