Aria pov

The sound hit me before the sunlight did. Loud voices, sharp cries, chairs scraping against the floor downstairs. I turned over, burying my head in the pillow, but the noise only grew heavier like it was pressing through the walls on purpose. My stomach sank. Something was wrong.

I dragged myself out of bed, splashed water on my face, and ran a comb through my hair with fingers that still felt half-asleep. No time for much else. I pulled on a simple dress, the kind I usually wore when I wanted to move freely, and rushed down the stairs, heart hammering because the tone of those voices didn’t...