Sleep.
For the first time in what felt like forever… I had it.
For the first time in what felt like an eternity, the nightmares hadn't found me.
The darkness of sleep had actually been kind, pulling me into a heavy, dreamless void where the sound of gunshots and the sight of Ayo's blood couldn't reach me.
Splash.
The shock was so violent I thought my heart had stopped.
I lunged upward, a strangled scream tearing from my throat as ice-cold water drenched my face, my hair, and the thin fabric of my nightgown.
"Wake up, princess. The sun has been up for an hour, and you're still rotting in this bed?"
I wiped the water from my stinging eyes, shaking. Standing at the foot of the bed was Magda. She held the empty silver bucket with a casual, bored look, her eyes glittering with a special kind of malice.
"Magda," I choked out, my teeth beginning to chatter. "What... what are you doing?"
"Establishing the new order," she said, her voice dropping into a dark, satisfied purr.
