Chapter 168

** Paige’s POV ** The world comes back in pieces. First, it’s the sound… a slow, steady beeping somewhere close to my head, steady as a heartbeat. Then warmth, heavy and suffocating, wrapped around me like a blanket I can’t quite move beneath. My throat burns when I swallow, and the back of my neck aches like I’ve been hit over the head with something heavy. I try to open my eyes, but the light stabs straight through me. It takes me a moment to realise it’s not sunlight at all. It’s dim, golden, and flickering, the kind of glow that comes from a fire. Voices drift nearby, muffled and low. Someone shifts beside me, a hand tightening gently around mine. “Rye,” I whisper before I can stop myself. My voice is rough and pathetically weak. Instantly, the hand squeezes back. His scent hits me next, that familiar grounding warmth that has always meant safety. “Yeah, angel. I’m here,” he murmurs, voice cracking on the words. I blink hard, forcing the blur to clear until his face comes into focu