Sera's Pov
My ears were ringing.
No—screaming.
A high, relentless pitch drilled through my skull like glass shattering against itself over and over again. My body refused to move for a second. I felt weightless. Or maybe too heavy. I couldn't tell.
It was hot.
Too hot. Thick. Choking. I tried to move and realized I was on the floor. Cold marble beneath me, but everything around me burned—smoke, heat, panic pressing in like walls. My limbs didn't respond at first, just twitched. Like I was underwater, trying to kick my way up through molasses.
Then the pain hit.
A flash of sharpness along my side. Sticky. Wet. Something warm pooling beneath my fingers when I pressed instinctively to my ribs.
Blood. Mine.
The real world returned in pieces. Sound—muted shouts. Blurry shapes running past me. A woman wailing. The sharp scent of smoke, mingled with something metallic. People were screaming names. Crying. Barking orders.
And then—
"Sera! Sera!"
My name.
Lucian's voice.
