Dylan jolted awake, ripped from the nightmare by an inhuman scream — a scream that burst from his own throat without him even realizing.
His voice echoed off the surrounding stones, hoarse and alien, as if it still belonged to that scorched world he had just fled.
But he didn't have time to catch his breath.
A metallic clash tore through the air, inches from his head.
His entire body was yanked backward with brutal force, thrown out of harm's way. The ground spun, his limbs screamed, and it was only when he felt Elisa's fingers clenched around his collar that he understood: she had just saved him.
Before him, the rock his head had been resting on a second earlier shattered under a brutal axe strike.
Maggie stood there, panting, arms still raised, eyes wide with feral tension.
"It was just a nightmare, Maggie!" Elisa shouted, her voice quivering with fury. "You gonna kill him in his sleep now?"
Maggie clenched her jaw, but her voice stayed cold, detached.
