Thessara's POV

July stumbled down the basement stairs, phone clutched in her shaking hand. Her face was ghost-white, eyes red-rimmed like she'd been crying. She thrust the phone toward me, showing a sketch she'd obviously drawn the moment she woke up—rough, desperate lines that somehow conveyed absolute terror.

"I made contact with my mom," July said, voice trembling. "The real one. She's trapped in this void, this gray empty space, but she can see things. Feel things through the spirit ...