THE LOST HEIRESS.

SLOANE'S POINT OF VIEW. The lights felt too bright. All I could focus on was the loud ringing in my ears, as I stood on the huge stage with the rest of the cast. For some reason, Seraphina had walked on stage as well and stood beside Ace, her expression stony. It felt as though the lights burned my eyelids, making me feel like they were bleeding and on fire, as my head pounded with a massive headache. What’s wrong with me? My body feels like it’s underwater, heavy and slow, every movement a delayed echo, rippling through me like I’d been hit by a massive wave. Applause ripples in the distance, but it sounds muffled and warped, like I’m hearing it through glass walls. My body feels like it’s lifting, and all I want to do is collapse. I blink. Once. Twice. The velvet curtain looms before me, and my chest rises and falls too quickly. I shouldn’t feel like this. A whisper coils in the back of my head, a phantom voice I almost recognise. I barely hear it through my jagged breathing, but by