Damon’s POV

Pain.

It was the first thing I felt when consciousness clawed its way back. Not the sharp, clean pain of a wound, but something deeper, darker. It spread through my veins like ice and fire at once, crawling toward my heart with every sluggish beat.

I tried to move, but my body refused. My limbs felt heavy, disconnected. The world around me was blurred, voices bleeding together into a mess of sound I couldn't separate.

"Damon!" Aria's voice cut through everything else, sharp ...