Chapter 21 Thorns In The Dark

• The first thing I feel is the ache—a deep, marrow-deep throb in my ribs, as if my bones are still remembering the impact. Then the antiseptic sting in my nostrils, the shrill beep of a heart monitor, and the scratch of starched sheets against my skin. I open my eyes to a blur of white: white walls, white curtains, white light spearing through half-closed blinds.
• *Hospital.*
• I try to sit up, but fire licks up my left side. A groan escapes before I can bite it back.