Selene's POV
I woke to find afternoon sun slanting through the windows again.
Not morning at all, not even early light,
But afternoon.
For a long moment, I just lay there, staring at the ceiling, my mind slow and heavy, like it had been dragged through mud and left there to dry.
Something felt… wrong.
Too quiet.
Too still.
Then it hit me.
I was still here.
Still alive.
Still in Damon's room.
Still in the middle of a war I didn't understand.
A shaky breath slipped out of me.
Apparently, my body had decided that sleeping sixteen-hour stretches was the new normal.
I pushed myself upright.
My muscles screamed.
Not sharp pain—no, this was worse. A deep, dragging exhaustion that settled into my bones like something permanent. Like something that didn't intend to leave.
I swung my legs off the bed and stood slowly.
The room tilted.
I grabbed the edge of the nightstand, waiting for the dizziness to pass.
"Great," I muttered.
"We love that for me."
