The sound of beeping pulled her out of the dark. Slow, steady, almost like a heartbeat.
Aria opened her eyes, blinking against the harsh white light.
Her throat was dry. Her head hurt. Everything felt too quiet.
She tried to sit up, but pain rushed through her side, sharp and deep.
"Easy," a voice said softly.
She turned her head, Elias was sitting in a chair beside her bed. His arm was bandaged. His face looked pale, tired.
"Where… where are we?" she whispered.
He hesitated. "A hospital."
But something about the way he said it made her uneasy. She looked around.
The walls weren't white like hospitals she knew, they were gray, cold metal underneath the paint. There were no nurses, no sound of people walking. Only one door. No windows.
"This isn't a hospital," she said quietly.
Elias sighed and rubbed his face. "It's the safest place I could find."
"Where?"
He met her eyes. "Lorenzo's private facility. On the edge of the city."
Her breath caught. "Lorenzo? He's alive?"
