Chapter 24 - The Price Of The Pact

• Alina
• I wake with a start, my breath short and my skin clammy. My heart is pounding in my chest, and the sensation of icy breath still grazes the back of my neck. The images of my nightmare haunt me: Cillian's distorted face, his cruel laughter, and the suffocating pain of his hands around my throat.
• My trembling fingers slide over my bare skin, and I realise I'm alone in the bed. Damon's place is cold. I sit up slowly, the sheets sliding down my hips. The room is pitch-dark, but the pale moonlight creeps through the half-open curtains, drawing eerie shadows on the walls.