My Brain Playing A Cruel Joke

Aiden's POV

I sat up in bed, my breaths uneven, my chest rising and falling as I tried to steady myself. My hands still trembled, clenched into fists against the sheets as the remnants of the vision clung to me like a phantom grip.

I looked down at Alexia, sleeping peacefully beside me. Her long lashes rested against her cheeks, her lips slightly parted, the slow rhythm of her breathing unbothered by the hell I had just lived through in my mind.

I ran a hand through my hair, my body tense with the need to do something—to move, to fight, to rage.

What the fuck was that?

It felt real. Too real. The scent of burning torches, the raw sting of the lashes on my back, the hatred that had burned inside me—like a fire that had never truly gone out.

And Alexia…

A part of me wanted to grab her, to wake her up and demand answers. Did she know? Had she seen it too?