**Elena’s POV**

Blackness. That was the first thing I knew.

It wasn't a soft, peaceful dark; it was heavy and suffocating, as if a thick curtain had been draped over my head. My eyelids felt heavy. Then came the pain, a dull throb at the base of my skull that pulsed in time with my racing heart. My mouth felt like it was stuffed with dry cotton, and the back of my throat was coated in a bitter, chemical film.

I tried to reach up to rub my aching temples, but my arms didn't move.

My heart gave ...