Karen woke slowly to the warmth of sunlight on her skin and the steady rise and fall of Alex's chest beneath her cheek.
He was already awake, his fingers gently tracing the curve of her back. Neither of them had said anything yet..no words, just the rhythm of two people who had finally, finally found each other amid the chaos.
She shifted slightly, her leg brushing against his.
"Good morning," she whispered, voice husky with sleep.
He smiled, lips grazing her temple. "Very good."
Karen rolled onto her back, the sheet falling away to reveal bare shoulders. Alex leaned over her, letting his fingers brush her collarbone as he traced the edge of her skin like it was something sacred.
"I keep thinking this is a dream," she said.
He kissed the hollow of her throat. "Then don't wake up."
Her hand slid around the back of his neck, pulling him down. Their lips met slowly this time, not frantic like the night before, but deep and filled with something heavier..belonging.
He kissed her like a man who had almost lost her, and she kissed him like a woman finally taking back everything that had been stolen.
Their bodies moved together again in the stillness of the early light, the world beyond the room forgotten...for now. Every touch felt like a vow and every breath was a promise. They clung to each other like they were trying to etch themselves into each other's skin before the world tried to rip them apart again.
Alex hand roamed her body as he gently sucked on her lips and finally let his hand dwell on the swell of her chest before gently letting her lips go and brushing her hair with his hands with a smile on his face.
Afterward, Karen lay in the crook of his arm, her fingers laced with his. "Whatever happens next…" she began.
Alex turned to her, brushing his lips against her wrist where the rope marks still faintly lingered. "We face it together."
She nodded. "Even if it means burning Avalon down."
Then—click.
They both froze.
Across the room, the laptop...long shut suddenly powered on by itself.
The screen glowed a faint blue, revealing the paused surveillance video from the night before.
But now it was playing.
And this time… it was live.
Their room. Right now.
Karen sat up sharply, the image was black-and-white, static-laced but unmistakable.
A camera was watching them, had been all night.
Alex jumped from the bed, grabbed the laptop.
"No active feed," he muttered. "There's no connection"
The screen blinked.
A red message bled across the display:
"The girl is awake, the system resets in 72 hours."
Karen's blood ran cold.
Luca burst into the room seconds later, breathless.
"We have a problem. The garden statues...they're bleeding."
Karen gripped the sheet to her chest, mind spinning.
Alex looked from the screen to Karen.
"Seventy-two hours," he said quietly. "To stop whatever's coming."
Karen's voice was barely a whisper.
"Or be erased."