Elena’s POV

When I woke up, the world felt strangely quiet.

The sedative had pulled me into a deep, dreamless sleep, and for the first time in days my mind was not racing ahead of my body. The exhaustion was still there, lingering in my bones, but it no longer crushed me.

I saw my mother standing beside the bed, carefully pouring porridge into a small ceramic bowl. The simple domestic movement made something in my chest ache.

I pushed myself upright too quickly and grabbed her ...