59. (PERCY POV)

(PERCY POV)

Waking up with Deirk holding me tightly was comforting and a reminder of the previous night. It felt like he was clinging to me like I was the only thing keeping him together, and perhaps I was at that moment. The usual tension in my chest each morning had loosened slightly, maybe because I didn't feel alone in this strange new world for the first time in a long while.

Deirk's presence, a comforting constant through the night's delirium, had somehow held the shadows at bay.

The nightmares had tormented me again last night, vivid and terrifying. Between the haunting replays of situations I unfortunately found myself in, I was in a dark, endless void, with eerie whispers and shadows that seemed to be closing in on me.

But then, they shifted. I was back at the orphanage, surrounded by the first kindergarten class Miss Morgana had allowed me to lead after I proved to her I could. Strangely, this shift made me feel even sadder than the nightmare. I missed those kids terribly.