Her heart had started that steady, insistent rhythm again—faster than it should be for something she couldn't even see.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, moving carefully, as if the floor itself might give her away.

The window waited where it always had.

Ordinary.

Still.

She reached for the curtain, hesitated for a fraction of a second, then pulled it back just enough to see.

Darkness.