Adeline’s POV
I woke to silence and the taste of blood on my tongue.
For a second, I thought the night had swallowed me whole. Then the ache returned—dull, lingering, proof that it hadn’t been a dream. Last night had happened. Every pulse of heat, every loss of control, every drop of blood.
My fingers brushed the sheet beside me, cold now. The fever was gone, but the memory of it still burned under my skin.
For the first time in so many nights, I could breathe without trembling.
I turned my head, half-expecting to find Mathias sitting in the chair by the window, but the room was quiet—too quiet. Only the distant chirping of birds drifted through the open pane, soft and steady, mixing with the comforting scent of breakfast—freshly baked bread, hot tea, and a faint trace of lemon that r
