Kira's pov
The tube scraped as they pulled it from my throat.
I gagged, coughed until my ribs ached, and then tasted it,that sharp, metallic bite. Blood.
"Easy," Eira said softly, already by my side, a glass of water in hand and that look in her eyes,one that said she'd seen too much and slept too little.
I winced as I shifted. My body felt like it had been dragged through hell and back. Maybe it had.
"They said you could sit up for a few minutes," she murmured, looping an arm behind my shoulders.
She looked different. I noticed it the moment she stepped into the room. Her jaw was tighter. Her eyes sharper. She wasn't armored in leather and steel, but the walls around her were back up, higher than before. Still, when she helped me sit, her fingers were gentle, precise. That was the part she couldn't hide.
"How long was I out?" I asked, my voice rasping like sand on stone.
"Three days."
"Feels like a lifetime."
"It nearly was."
