Nasya's POV
Interior of the house, late afternoon sunlight streaming through dusty windows. A middle-aged woman with an enormously distended belly lay sprawled across the worn sofa cushions, her breathing shallow and irregular as she drifted in and out of consciousness.
After sending Joanna to find Orion on the second floor, I hurried to check on the woman. Her condition was immediately concerning - the sallow yellow tint of her skin stood out starkly against the faded floral upholstery, while the whites of her half-lidded eyes had taken on an unnatural golden hue. When I pressed my palm to her forehead, the heat radiating from her dry skin nearly made me recoil; her fever must have been dangerously high.
"It's jaundice," Matilda said as she came downstairs and took a quick look. "She likely has thalassemia."
