Elena's POV

I surfaced into consciousness like someone dragging me out of deep water. Sound came first—muffled voices, the distant beeping of a monitor—then the blinding hospital lights.

And then him.

Damian.

Sitting stiffly beside my bed like he’d been carved out of expensive marble, jaw locked so tight the muscle twitched. His elbows rested on his knees, both hands clasped together like he was praying—or trying very hard not to smash something.

He noticed the moment my eyelids ...