Betty's POV. 

Exhaustion swallowed me whole the moment my head hit the pillow. Damien slumped beside the bed, refusing to leave even when sleep dragged him down like a weight.

Hours passed, but the mark never fully stopped pulsing and shifting beneath my skin while I slept.

At some point in the night, a sudden surge of energy ripped through me, sharp enough to jolt my body upward before fading as quickly as it came. 

Damien stirred but did not wake, and I drifted back into darkness.

The ...