Silence.
Not the kind that felt peaceful.
Not the kind that gave comfort.
This silence was heavy.
Suffocating.
It pressed against Emily from every direction, wrapping around her like an invisible cage.
Then—
Pain.
Sharp.
Sudden.
Explosive.
Emily gasped as her body slammed against something solid.
Cold ground.
Rough.
Real.
Her eyes flew open.
Darkness surrounded her.
No golden light.
No battlefield.
No Alexander.
Just darkness.
Her breathing came out uneven, almost broken as she tried to push herself up. Her arms trembled beneath her weight, her muscles weak, her chest tight as if something inside her was still breaking apart.
"…where… am I…?" she whispered.
Her voice sounded distant, hollow.
Like it didn't belong to her.
Fragments of memory rushed back all at once.
The battle.
The soldiers.
Alexander—
Her chest tightened painfully.
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block it out.
But it didn't stop.
It replayed.
His voice.
Cold.
Distant.
