Chapter 245

AURELIA’S POV The first thing I felt was weight. Heavy, suffocating, as if my own body had turned to stone. Every limb resisted me when I tried to move. My chest rose and fell too slowly, each breath a sharp reminder that something was wrong. A groan escaped me before I could stop it. Immediately, movement. A chair scraped against the floor, and then a shadow loomed close. “Aurelia!” Darius’s voice cut through the haze, too sharp, too urgent. “You’re awake—are you okay? Do you feel pain anywhere? Can you breathe properly? Do you need water? Should I—” “Relax, man,” Kael’s voice interrupted, steadier, calmer. “Let her open her eyes properly before you drown her in questions.” I forced my lids apart, squinting against the dim glow of the lantern by my bed. My room. I was back in my own room. The ceiling beams overhead felt strange, distant, as though I were looking at them through water. When my gaze finally shifted, I saw them—my guards. My shadows. Darius and Kael. And they looked… god