Chapter 20

• [Camden]
• It’s been two weeks since the call with my sister, and Kendall is still haunted by nightmares, her sleep haunted by the lingering shadows of fear. Tonight, though, felt different—her nightmare was worse, as if it had sunk its claws in deeper. We’d both drifted off on the couch, tangled up in the shared warmth and the gentle rise and fall of each other’s breaths, but she woke gasping, her eyes wide, struggling for air as though drowning in invisible waters.
• “Principessa?” I murmur, my voice low, trying not to startle her. Her gaze locks onto mine, her brown eyes deep and desperate, glistening with a wild panic that claws at my chest. “Breathe, baby.” I keep my voice steady, soft, and deliberate, hoping she'll mirror me as I draw a slow breath in through my nose, then let it out. It takes a beat, but she catches on, her breaths finally syncing with mine. Her fingers dig into my arms as if I’m the only anchor keeping her from slipping away. “It’s okay, just breathe.”