Elena's POV
Darkness again. But this time, it was different. It wasn't the choking, suffocating blackness of Dante's warehouse. It wasn't the kind of dark where fear slithered in and wrapped around my throat.This darkness was softer. Gentler.Like sleep.
And even in it, I wasn't alone. Because Justin was there. Not in body, maybe, but in spirit, his voice still clung to me, a tether that pulled me from the edge. His whispered confessions wrapped around me like a blanket, keeping the nightmares at bay.
I drifted in and out of consciousness, like a leaf caught in a tide. Every time I tried to claw my way back up, my body refused, dragging me down again. But always, always there was him. His voice. His touch. His love.
The sound of machines beeping. The faint scrape of a chair. The low hum of whispered words I wasn't meant to hear but clung to anyway.
"She's strong," Justin's voice murmured, hoarse with exhaustion. "Stronger than me. Stronger than anyone I know."
