It was a gentle touch at first, but like fire melting ice, it was all Oriana needed at that moment. A single ray of light amidst the suffocating darkness.
"...ian?"
In her dream, she heard another voice, seemingly calling for her. The nightmare began to lose its potency, the sinister voice fading, melting, back into the darkness, leaving only angry roars in its wake.
'Who dares?! Who? No!' that hollow voice shouted angrily. 'Esmeray, do not leave…Esmeray, no!'
"Oriana, wake up!"
A profound sense of relief washed over her, like a drowning person's first gasp of air.
As if on cue, her eyes snapped open, hazel eyes brimming with tears, her entire body trembling in shock.
"Are you—"
His question was cut off in the middle because the frightened young woman had embraced her savior, hugging him so tightly as if clinging onto him for her dear life.
Vulnerable and fragile.
