ALTHEA
I knew who it was before my eyes could adapt to the almost opaque haze that I found myself in and I tensed.
Bile rose in my throat when his voice reached my ears. "Althea..." Thorne whispered. "It was just a nightmare." His tone was soothing in the way that weighed my lids down.
I yawned, my adrenaline waning as I let him lay me back down, with his arms around me, my back flush against his body.
"I am here, I promise." He assured, his heart beating against my back. Its steady rhythm lulling me back to sleep.
But even as I closed my eyes, my body relaxed no matter how much horror it was fraught with, I could still hear the voice from the nightmare.
The form it was—shadows. Its voice...
*Finish it, Thea.*
Only Thorne called me that and only Thorne could control shadows. I had seen the dark tendrils in action.
But this felt worse.
Despite the slumber slowly pulling me under, the lump in my throat still hardened.
*Finish it, Thea.*
*...Thea*
