[Music recommendation: Fighting for a Lost Cause · Antimatter]
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Sitting up quickly, Aliana reached out to switch on the bedside lamp and scanned the room.
Once again, there was no sign of Gavriel.
'Where is he?' she wondered as her gaze drifted towards the window, only to find darkness outside.
'How long was I out?' The thought hung suspended in her mind as she swung her legs over the side of the mattress, determined to search for the man she had spent the previous night trying to escape.
She padded across the cold floor toward the adjoining bathroom, only to come to a stop to find it empty.
Releasing a slow, shaky breath, she turned toward the vanity mirror, her eyes widening as her reflection caught the light.
There was not a single speck of dirt left on her skin, nor any trace of the cuts or dried blood that had marred her body yesterday.
"How?" she whispered, stepping closer to inspect her reflection.
