A faint groan escaped Hikaru's lips the moment her eyes fluttered open.
At that moment, pain arrived first. It was everywhere. The pain seeped into her bones like cold water, spreading slowly until even breathing felt unfamiliar.
It took Hikaru a moment to adjust to the pain, after which she could focus on her surroundings. Her gaze drifted across the unfamiliar ceiling above her, tracing the soft lines of carved molding and warm light that pooled across the room. This wasn't her room. For a few seconds, confusion wrapped around her thoughts like fog.
Then memory returned.
Dmitri had taken her away. There had been voices, hurried footsteps, the sting of antiseptic against torn skin as soon as she arrived there. Hikaru remembered that a doctor came to treat her wounds before she finally fell asleep after taking painkillers.
Hikaru exhaled shakily.
