SAGE
I opened my eyes to white.
For a long moment, I did not understand what I was seeing. My mind floated somewhere thick and heavy, like I was suspended beneath deep water.
The ceiling above me was smooth and unpainted, carved stone worn down by years of touch and time. I blinked slowly, trying to piece together why my body felt like it had been broken apart and stitched back wrong.
My limbs were heavy. My chest ached. Even breathing felt like work.
A faint scent of incense curled through the air—earthy and sharp, the kind the priest favored during healings. The smoke drifted lazily toward the ceiling in pale ribbons.
Where was I?
I swallowed, and even that small motion hurt.
Memories came in fragments. Ash. Light. Screams. Adam's arms catching me before I hit the ground.
Vampires. The sun. The abyss. The Queen.
I turned my head slightly. At the foot of the bed sat Adam.
