Sweat dripped down my face as I lay on a bed of damp moss, staring into the darkness beneath the trees.
The forest had gone quiet hours ago.
Lila was supposed to be beside me.
Supposed to be.
That was where I'd left her when we fell asleep, curled beneath the same blanket with her shoulder pressed against mine. I remembered the warmth of her body. I remembered her breathing.
Now there was only empty space.
I didn't know when she'd moved.
Normally, I wouldn't have cared.
Brutal fights had never done much to my sleep. I could get beaten half to death and still pass out the moment my head touched something remotely comfortable. My body had always known how to shut itself down when it needed to.
But tonight was different.
I couldn't feel myself properly.
My limbs were there.
My heartbeat was there.
My breathing was there.
Yet somehow, none of it felt like it belonged to me.
I closed my eyes.
For a while, I tried to force myself back to sleep.
It didn't work.
