Luciana's pov
****
I didn't think anything was wrong.
That's the strangest part.
The house was quiet, but it wasn't unusual. It's just one of those heavy silences that settle after raised voices. My heart was still beating too fast from the argument, but I told myself it would pass.
I remember standing at the top of the staircase, my fingers resting on the railing. The wood was cool and smooth under my palm. I stared down at the steps, trying to steady my breathing.
I should have just gone to my room.
I should have kept walking.
Instead—
Something slammed into my back.
Hard.
Not a stumble.
It's not an accident.
A shove.
My body jerked forward before my mind could catch up. My foot reached for the next step — and there was nothing there.
For one suspended second, I felt weightless.
Then I twisted.
And I saw it.
A hand pulling back.
A wrist wrapped in emerald metal.
A dragon bracelet. Intricate. Coiled. Its green eyes catching the chandelier light.
I couldn't see the face.
I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman.
Just the bracelet.
Then I was falling.
My heel hit first. Pain shot up my leg so sharp I thought I screamed, but I'm not sure any sound came out. My shoulder struck wood. My head snapped sideways. The ceiling spun violently above me.
I reached for the railing.
Missed.
My ribs slammed into the edge of a step. The air burst out of my lungs in a broken gasp. I tried to breathe in again, but my chest wouldn't cooperate.
Another step.
My hip.
My elbow.
Everything hurt.
The staircase wouldn't stop.
Each impact felt louder than it should have. Bone against wood. A sickening thud. My vision blurred into streaks of gold and cream and light.
I tasted blood.
Warm.
Metallic.
Then, the final drop.
My head hit the bottom.
And everything went quiet.
Not silent.
Just… "muffled.
There was a ringing in my ears, sharp and high. I blinked, but the world wouldn't focus properly. The chandelier above me looked shattered, like broken stars hanging from the ceiling.
I tried to move my fingers.
Nothing.
I tried to sit up.
My body didn't respond.
Footsteps.
Fast.
Someone dropped beside me.
Hands grabbed my shoulders and shook me.
"Luciana!"
The voice sounded far away. It was like it was underwater.
"Luciana! Oh my God— Luciana!"
My head rolled to the side. It felt too heavy to hold up.
I tried to look.
Tried to see who was holding me.
And I did.
For a second.
A face above me.
Crying.
Eyes wide. Wet. Mouth trembling.
But it was blurry. So blurry, I couldn't tell if I knew it. Couldn't tell if it was the same person who pushed me.
People were gathering. I could hear them now. Footsteps. Panicked voices overlapping. Someone gasping. Someone said my name again and again.
"Call an ambulance!"
"Is she breathing?"
"Luciana, stay with me!"
Stay with me.
I tried.
I really did.
But everything felt far away.
The hands shaking me felt distant.
The voices started to stretch and fade, like they were being pulled down a long tunnel.
The crying face above me leaned closer. Tears fell onto my cheek. I felt the faintest warmth.
Or maybe I imagined it.
The edges of my vision started turning pale.
Not dark.
White.
The walls disappeared first.
Then the ceiling.
Then the faces.
The voices became softer.
More distant.
Like they were dissolving.
"Luciana—"
Even that faded.
The last thing I remember was that crying face above me.
Blurry.
Desperate.
And then—
Everything turned white.