She reached for the pitcher and glass on the table to pour herself some water. Aeliana drank it in one gulp, feeling it slide down her parched throat.

In that dream, fragments of her past slowly returned to her. In that dream, her throat felt dry—as though she’d been screaming for a long time. She rose from the bed, hearing the faint patter of rain starting to fall outside.

She glanced at the wall clock. Eleven o’clock in the evening. Her sleep hadn’t been that deep, yet she was ...