POV: Clara

The first thing I felt was warmth.

Not the morning sun — because there was no sun yet. Not the child’s glow — though faint light pulsed softly against my ribs where it slept curled in my arms.

No, the warmth that woke me was the absence of cold where Daniel should’ve been.

I reached sideways.

Empty.

My stomach dropped.

“Daniel?” I whispered.

My voice felt small in the dark. The sky above us was still pitch-black, streaked ...