Aliena's eyelids flickered open slowly, as if the light itself was hesitant to touch her. For a long moment, the world was nothing but a blur of muted shapes and soft shadows. The faint scent of lavender and something else—something familiar—lingered in the air, tugging at a memory she couldn't yet place. She blinked again, forcing her vision to sharpen, and reality hit her in a fragile, almost terrifying wave.
She was lying on a bed, not her own, yet somehow safe. Her limbs felt heavy, as though they belonged to someone else. Her heart thumped painfully in her chest, a frantic drumbeat that mirrored the dizzying fear clawing at her mind. She tried to sit up—and the room spun violently, forcing her back down. Panic clawed at her throat.
