I woke with a jolt, gasping as if I had emerged from a nightmare that was too real. My body felt heavy, as if it had been dragged by the current of a dark river, and the first thing I felt was the searing burn on my back: a latent fire that cruelly reminded me of each lash of the whip. I tried to move, but the pain forced me to remain lying on my stomach. The air wasn't familiar... humid, laden with salt, with that unmistakable smell of the sea that invaded my lungs and made me dizzy.
I opened my eyes with effort. The room wasn't mine, nor did it belong to Lucian. The walls were covered with light wood, decorated with ancient maps and rusted compasses that hung like relics torn from time. A large window let in the breeze; the curtains waved like ghosts, and from there I could see the white forest of the pack... but from a strange perspective, from up high, as if I were trapped in a forbidden place.
