Lyla
I came back to myself slowly.
My eyelids were heavy, and my lashes were sticky with dried tears. My head throbbed. I took a breather, and there was a metallic taste in my mouth that made my stomach churn.
The first thing I became aware of as I came to consciousness slowly was of the twins. They were moving restlessly inside me. As soon as I noticed that, I panicked.
I tried to move my hands to soothe them, to place my palms on my belly in the gesture that usually soothes them over the past months, but that was when I noticed my hands were bound too.
I could perceive the acrid smell of silver biting into my wrists and the clink of chains echoing in the room.
All the fatigue vanished from my eyes.
I was lying on a narrow bed in what appeared to be some medical facility or laboratory. The walls were stark white, lined with equipment I didn't recognise. The air smelled of antiseptic and something else – something that made me recoil in fear.
