I carefully laid Isiliraiellyn down on a small bed tucked away in one of the private corners of the cake shop.
Her breathing had slowed, gentle and steady, and her face looked calm—so serene that it almost felt unreal.
Seeing her like this, with her long hair spread out across the pillow, a soft rise and fall to her chest... it was like she had melted into the silence.
I pulled up a chair and sat beside her, just for a moment—to catch my breath after all that chaos.
And then—
"Ah!"
She shot up without warning.
There was no groggy blink and no drowsy flutter of the eyes.
She bolted upright like someone rising from a nightmare, her eyes snapping wide open in one instant motion, as if yanked back into reality by an invisible string.
"W-Where am I?! Did I get captured by the enemy?!" she shouted, her head darting left and right, pupils wide with panic—until her gaze locked onto mine.
"You're finally awake," I said calmly, keeping my tone even.
"Ah!"
