**~ Hazel's POV ~**
"Is she awake?"
"Hazel…?"
Voices. Familiar ones..muffled, cracking through the pounding in my skull like the aftermath of an explosion. Aurora's silhouette hovered beside me, her hand carefully tipping a spoon toward my lips, whispering something I couldn't quite catch.
Caspian's hands were wrapped around mine, thumbs tracing soothing circles over my knuckles like he was holding onto a lifeline. Or maybe I was his.
My head throbbed. My chest ached.
My breath hitched, and my fingers trembled. I felt it. That pain. That… weight. The cold grip in my chest had loosened.
Wait…was that an emotion?
Did it come back?
Caspian's grip on my hand tightened as his gaze met mine and his eyes shimmered. No, more than shimmered. They glowed with tears that clung to the corners, refusing to fall, but threatening with every breath.
"Oh my god," he whispered, a desperate grin cracking through his stunned face. "Hazel… it's you. You're back. It worked!"
