KEILAH

The bed beneath me felt soft, impossibly warm, like being wrapped in a cloud. I opened my eyes slowly, groggy, my mind drifting in and out of a haze as I tried to orient myself. The last thing I remembered was—my chest tightened, memories flashing back: that cold, dark castle, the vampires, the suffocating silence of that nowhere place. I looked around, my heart beating steadily as I took in my surroundings. I was back in my room, in Damien’s house.

“Oh, my good heavens, you’re awake!” The familiar voice belonged to that old woman, her face a mix of worry and relief as she snapped her book shut,...