Ivy had no idea how long she had been unconscious or how many hours the darkness had held her captive. All she remembered was the cold emptiness... and then, a warm golden light.
It had led her back.
Not toward life.
Toward him.
Xander.
The man who had unknowingly become the center of her world. The one she couldn't bear to leave behind, no matter what.
The darkness gradually faded, replaced by warmth, until air rushed back into her lungs. Her chest rose with a shaky breath as consciousness slowly returned.
The rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor reached her ears first.
Then the sharp scent of antiseptic.
Finally, her eyelids fluttered open.
For a brief second, confusion clouded her mind before the horrifying memory came crashing back.
Florine.
The knife.
The burning pain that had spread through her body.
Panic surged through Ivy as she instinctively tried to sit up.
A sharp ache tore through her abdomen, forcing a quiet gasp from her lips.
