She was trapped in her own mind. The shadows pulled her deeper and deeper into the cold nothingness. She fought it, but as the warmth faded so did her strength. The darkness pressed in, suffocating her. When she managed to breath, it felt like her lungs were filling with a thick liquid. The shadows around her were tangible, gripping her like a spiderweb. She was lost, sinking deeper into the endless night.

What had happened? Where had everyone gone? Where had the world gone? Questions swirled through her mind until they drowned out all other thoughts.

As the darkness dragged her down, the questions changed and they were far scarier. How had she gotten here? Who was she waiting for? What was her name? The ocean of shadow continued to crash down on her.

Relentless, it beat at her consciousness, slowly eroding the elf it belonged to.

She didn't know what had happened, but she knew that if this continued much longer, there wouldn't be any of her left. Just the darkness. And the cold.

The darkness reared up, ready to snuff out her weak light - to engulf her.

She couldn't fight it. She was already too weak. This was the end. She closed her eyes and waited for the overwhelming cold to take her, but it hesitated.

When she opened her eyes, a spark of light shone in the pitch black. A glimmer of hope.
She pushed up with all of her strength, straining to reach that small spark. Somehow she knew that if she could reach it, it would free her from the darkness. She struggled and fought, but the light stayed just out of reach. She stretched her arm, feeling her muscles tense.

The shadows splashed and reeled, yanking at her, trying to keep her from the light.

The speck of light grew a little bigger.

The shadows cowered back.

Something came back. A name.

She strained harder to grab the light. "Tam." She whispered the name under her breath over and over, using it to fuel her forward, holding onto the singular memory with everything she had. Someone was trying to save her. Tam was trying to save her.

The light and the dark pulled her in opposite directions. She felt like it might tear her in half. The light grew, breaking through the thick darkness and chasing it away.

Suddenly, she stood on solid ground and instead of having to chase the light, the soft inviting glow came to her. Its warmth enveloped her. All her memories came back - the good, the bad, and the strange.

Her name bounced around her head in multiple voices, different emotions, varying inflections.

Faces surrounded her, some more vivid than others. Some attached to feelings of grief, others to joy. Some of them showed more often than others, dominating her mind.

Soon, the faces connected to names. She repeated each of them with great care to be sure she remembered them.

By now, the light was blinding and she was aware of her limp body, her heavy limbs, and her splitting headache.

Finally, Valerie's eyes fluttered open.
Tam held her gently in his lap, one hand positioned over her chest. He wore a worried, almost panicked expression. His hand was covered in thick pulsating darkness - Shadowflux.

Valerie's vision was still blurred and she couldn't move, but she did her best to smile at him.

His concerned scowl broke into a wide grin, which looked unnatural since he didn't smile much. He pulled her into a tight hug and Valerie basked in the warmth.

Soon, she felt more arms wrap around her. She was back. She was okay. Tam had saved her.

A/N
Well, I had WAY too much fun writing that. Hope no one found it boring.
We just have one more book to get through. Woohoo! This has been a blast to write. Hope you've all enjoyed it as much as I have.
-Cheshire