Elena’s POVWhen I opened my eyes, I thought I was still dreaming.

The world remained dark, but not entirely. There were faint glimmers, like dust motes drifting across a black sea. A soft haze of light trembled at the edges of my vision, and for the first time in weeks, the void began to fracture.

Shapes emerged, blurry, uncertain: the outline of a curtain, the white blur of ceiling lights. My chest tightened. It wasn’t much. But it was something.

And then, through the shifting fog, a ...