AT THE SAME TIME
XAVIER'S POINT OF VIEW:
I awoke to darkness and a chill that crept beneath my skin. My head throbbed, and for a long, disoriented moment, I thought I'd slept beneath that ancient oak. Instead, I found myself in a damp, cavernous space. The rough stone around me and the echo of distant dripping water told me I was inside a cave, not the open forest I remembered. At first, I couldn't believe my eyes. Her hair, dark as night, framed a face that was strikingly familiar yet completely changed. Instead of the warm amber I'd known, her eyes shone a piercing, icy blue that seemed to glow in the gloom.
"Wanessa?" I whispered, my voice rough with shock and uncertainty.