BACK TO PRESENT
Lyanna floated in darkness, aware yet detached from her body. She was in a void between consciousness and oblivion, where pain couldn't reach her, but neither could anything else. It felt peaceful.
She could hear distant voices, like they were coming from underwater. She heard Azrael, desperately calling her name, begging her to stay alive. The words weren't clear, but the emotion behind them was raw.
Adrian was coordinating something. Defense? The battle? She couldn't focus enough to understand.
Healers were there, working on something she couldn't see or feel.
The pain that had consumed her chest was fading as she sank deeper into the darkness. It was easier here.
Is this dying? It's not as frightening as I had expected.
She thought about her life. Her family was dead. She had been forced into marriage with a vampire king who hated her. Over time, their relationship had changed; hatred had transformed into something complicated.
