Cecilia’s POV
Everything around me turned blurry. In the pitch-black depths of the river, countless glowing red fish swam toward me. I felt like the life force inside me was being drained, but I kept reaching out toward Ulysses.
“Ulysses—!”
The next second, I jolted awake from the nightmare, letting out a sharp cry.
My throat felt like it had been scraped raw by rough gravel, and I couldn’t believe the hoarse groan that came from my own mouth. But that wasn’t the most shocking part.
I wasn’t at the bottom of the river, nor had I managed to grab Ulysses.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself inside a dark underground cave. Looking up, I could see a distant gray sky through a small hole. The walls around me were black stone, embedded with pale, glowing pearls that gave off a faint white light.
Where am I? I thought I was supposed to have drowned in the river, yet here I was, lying in an empty cave. No Ulysses, no strange red fish.