Chapter 4 — Dreams of Betrayal

Ashley

The night came in thick and heavy, the weight of it pressing against Ashley’s chest as she tried—and failed—to sleep. The sigil burned faintly beneath her hoodie, a pulse that matched the uneven rhythm of her heart. She lay on her back, staring at the ceiling of her room. The familiar cracks in the plaster looked like veins, spreading outward, as though her world was slowly fracturing.