"I'm sorry," I began, my voice trembling slightly as I pulled the duvet tighter around my shoulders. "I know how late it is, Eloise, but something happened on the way back from Silver Creek... and I'm terrified it’s going to happen again."
Eloise’s expression softened, the initial alarm fading into a deep, focused concern. She stepped closer and sat down gently on the edge of the mattress, her presence immediately bringing a sense of grounded calm to the vast, empty bedroom. She reached out, placing a comforting hand over mine. "Take a breath, Rachel. Tell me everything."
With the quiet night wrapping around us, I let the dam break. I told her about the suffocating trap of the nightmare, the horrific illusions of the Stronghold my father had forced into my mind, and the absolute desperat
