Chapter 37

• Cesmae's POV
• The shadows in the room twist and contort, becoming elongated, and monstrous. The hum turns into a deafening roar, drowning out the screams until they’re nothing but a distant echo. I try to focus on what’s happening, to understand the horror unfolding before me, but the details slip through my fingers like water. The figure’s hands are moving furiously, tearing at something—someone—hidden within the shadows, but it’s all a blur, impossible to make out.
• The blood spreads faster now, racing toward my feet, and when it touches me, it’s ice-cold, freezing me in place. My heart pounds frantically in my chest, each beat hammering against my ribs as I struggle to breathe. I try to scream, to call out for help, but my voice is locked in my throat, the sound suffocated by the overwhelming terror that has me in its grip.