-Julien Grayson:
The darkness didn't last.
Not really.
It felt like it did—like time stretched and folded in on itself, like I was stuck in that space for far too long—but then, just as suddenly as it came, it was gone.
Air rushed back into my lungs.
Cold. Crisp. Real.
My vision blurred for a second before it steadied, the golden dust dissolving around us as if it had never existed, like it hadn't just wrapped itself around my entire body and pulled me somewhere else entirely.
And then—
I realized where I was.
I didn't move at first.
I couldn't.
Because I knew this place before I even fully took it in.
The ground beneath my feet wasn't the smooth wooden floors of my bedroom anymore. It was uneven, rough, and scattered with dirt and small stones. The air smelled different, too—earthier, cleaner, carrying that faint scent of trees and something wild.
My fingers were still pressed against his chest.
His arm was still around me.
I slowly lifted my head.
And there it was.
