DESDEMONA

I could feel something strange in my body even though I could not explain what it was. Since the night I had spent with Alaric, my body had felt strangely different, as if something inside me had shifted without asking for my permission.

I woke up tired even after sleeping for hours, and the hunger that had started the morning before had only become worse. It was not the normal kind of hunger that came from missing a meal. It came suddenly and strongly, leaving me thinking about food even when I had just finished eating.

That morning, I had already eaten breakfast when I found myself staring at...