Novel’s POV

I didn’t know why I had flirted so boldly with Alexei. Maybe it was because it had been so long since we were truly intimate, or maybe it was the crushing fear that my time was running out.

I was too weak to even keep my eyes open. I felt his hand linger on my cheek, a tender caress before he pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. I let myself drift into sleep, but my dreams weren't nearly as lovely as the reality I had just left behind.

In the dream, I stood in the center of a vast, faceless crowd. I was searching for someone, my...