Chapter 40

• LYDIA
• There is a scent in the air, damp and cool, like the earth after a long rain. My eyes open slowly, and I realize the windows of the room are wide open. The curtains move gently with the wind. Standing in front of the balcony is Dex. He leans forward, his arms resting on the railing, his gaze lost in the endless stone columns that stretch toward the horizon, shaping the hidden city below New York City.
• I sit up carefully. Pain travels through my body like a memory I cannot escape. My wrist is swollen, and thin cuts mark my skin. Still, there is a strange tenderness flowing through my limbs, a softness that makes the world around me feel more vivid than ever before, as if I am touching life for the first time.