Ivy POV

Everything was dark at first. There was no sound. No breath. No pain. Just a deep silence that felt endless. I didn’t know if I was alive or gone. I didn’t know if time was moving or standing still.

Then something warm wrapped around my chest. It pulled at me gently. Not forceful. Not painful. Just steady.

Lucien’s voice reached me through the darkness. It sounded far away at first, like he was on the other side of a thick wall.

“Ivy… please… don’t go… don’t leave ...