Chapter 36 A Fateful Rescuea Fateful Rescue

• The dream was too perfect, a cruel comfort, offering me a glimpse of everything I’d lost. I was with my family. Mira was there, her laughter bright and clear as she teased Levi. Bea’s familiar smile warmed me like sunlight, and we sat together, the four of us, as if nothing terrible had ever happened.
• But as quickly as the comfort appeared, it shattered. Astrid emerged from the shadows, her eyes cold and full of malice, and she killed them—one by one, while I was helpless to stop her. I screamed, desperate and terrified, but my voice seemed trapped within my own throat.
• With a gasp, I woke, my body drenched in cold sweat, my heart pounding wildly. I was back in reality, and the weight of it crushed me all over again. “It was just a dream,” I whispered, but somehow, it still hurt.