** Paige’s POV **

The world comes back in pieces. First, it’s the sound… a slow, steady beeping somewhere close to my head, steady as a heartbeat. Then warmth, heavy and suffocating, wrapped around me like a blanket I can’t quite move beneath. My throat burns when I swallow, and the back of my neck aches like I’ve been hit over the head with something heavy.

I try to open my eyes, but the light stabs straight through me. It takes me a moment to realise it’s not sunlight at all. ...