~Teyana’s POV~

Pain. A searing, unrelenting pain throbbed through the back of my head. My eyelids felt like they were weighed down by bricks, heavy and reluctant, but somehow, slowly, I forced them open.

Light- too bright- stabbed my vision. My mind swam in a fog- blank and uncooperative, memories flickering like dying embers in my head. Where… where am I?

I tried to move, but my arms were pinned. My legs too. A tight, unyielding rope bit into my wrists and ankles. My chest rose and fell erratically as my breath caught in my throat.

And then my eyes moved—slowly, cautiously, and opened. I almost regretted opening them, because...