Sarafina POV
I woke up choking on air.
My body jerked upright like someone had yanked strings tied to my ribs. For a second, I didn't know where I was. My room blurred in and out—too bright, too sharp, too loud.
My heart hammered so violently it hurt.
Not normal.
Not human.
Not okay.
I pressed my palm against my chest, trying to force it to slow down, but my heartbeat only thrashed harder, like something inside me was fighting to break out.
"Calm down," I whispered. "Just breathe. It's fine. You're fine."
I wasn't.
The neon sign outside my window buzzed faintly, washing the room in blue. Except—every time my heart pulsed, the light flickered. In sync.
That wasn't possible.
I stood too fast. The floor tilted sideways. A wave of dizziness crashed over me, followed by heat—rising from my stomach, my spine, my throat.
Not human heat.
Not fever.
Something raw and electric.
"Please," I breathed, palms shaking. "Not again."
I stumbled toward the window for air, gripping the sill so hard the metal groaned. The city outside blurred. The lights streaked. My vision doubled.
Another wave of heat tore through my body.
I gasped— a small burst of light sparking from my fingertips.
I stared at them, horrified.
"No. No. Stop."
The air around me vibrated.
Then—my lamp exploded.
Shards of glass rained across the floor. I jumped back, slamming into my desk. The books on top trembled, then flew off as if something invisible had shoved them.
My breath hitched. Panic clawed up my throat.
"What's happening to me?"
A whisper of of the dream flashed through my mind— a woman glowing like moonlight calling me daughter touching my face warning me of something I couldn't understand.
My heartbeat stuttered, then raced again.
Was I hallucinating?
Losing my mind?
Was this trauma from dying?
From coming back?
Another pulse hit—hard.
Pain lanced down my spine. My knees buckled.
I hit the floor, hands pressed against the wood as a cold shock passed through me, then heat again—so intense it burned behind my eyes.
I screamed.
The room shook.
The curtains whipped.
My mirror cracked straight down the middle.
The neon sign flickered violently like it was about to burst.
"Please stop," I pleaded, curling in on myself. "Please—please—stop—"
But the energy—whatever it was—only kept building.
It felt like drowning. Like falling. Like breaking open.
Tears blurred my vision as I clutched my head, trying to hold myself together, trying not to split apart.
I didn't know what I was.
I didn't know what was happening.
And I didn't know how to make it stop.
Another violent pulse threw a picture frame off the wall. It shattered inches from my hand.
Someone was going to hear.
Someone was going to see.
Someone was going to come.
And then—
A sound.
Footsteps.
Fast. Urgent.
My door rattled—once, twice
then—
" Sarafina? "
Cassian's voice.
Right as the world finally snapped white and everything went dark.