The Heroes back to the Empire of Light

Siara's eyes snapped open, her breath shallow as she stared at the ceiling above her. A dull, persistent ache throbbed in her temples, and she instinctively raised a hand to her forehead, massaging it in an attempt to soothe the pain.

For a moment, she lay still, silent, allowing the remnants of her dream to settle in her mind like the ripples of a disturbed pond.

She had dreamed of him again.

Nathan.

Her stepbrother's face had appeared so vividly in her dreams that it was as if he had been standing right before her, alive, real—almost within reach. Ever since his death, these dreams had plagued her, creeping into her sleep like ghosts of memories she could never escape. Sometimes, they were fragments of ordinary days, mundane moments from their shared past. But tonight had been different.

Tonight, she had relived a day she could never forget.

A day that had changed everything.