Aurora’s P.O.V

I wake up to a pounding headache, the kind that makes my skull feel like it’s splitting open from the inside out. My body is heavy, unresponsive, as though I’ve been drugged or drained of every ounce of strength. A dull, distant sound fills my ears—muffled at first, then sharpening into something unmistakable.

Crying.

It’s all around me, surrounding me like a thick fog. Different voices, different tones—some are shaking with terror, others gasping ...