Sebastian woke choking on air that didn't exist.
His body jerked upright before his mind caught up, hands clawing at sheets that were twisted tight around his waist.
Sweat clung to his skin in a cold film, the kind that didn't belong to summer heat or nightmares about falling. This was the old kind. The familiar kind. The kind that left his chest aching like he'd been running for miles.
For a moment he didn't know where he was.
There was a ceiling above him, pale and quiet. A window. Curtains shifting in the early morning breeze.
The faint hum of distant city life filtering through glass. His heartbeat thundered in his ears, drowning all of it out. He dragged in a breath, then another, forcing air into lungs that felt too small.
He looked to his side.
Belle was there.
