~Hermes~

Darkness.

Not the peaceful kind. The heavy, endless kind that presses against my chest and makes breathing feel optional.

"Hermes, honey."

Natalya's voice.

I turn sharply, my pulse spiking. "Natalya?" My voice echoes, swallowed whole by the void.

That's impossible.

Natalya is dead.

The thought lands with a sickening clarity. I know this. I remember this. So why is her voice threading through the dark like a hook in my ribs?

"Hermes, honey. Come with me."

The words drift ahead ...