ELIANA'S POV

I woke up to voices. Sharp ones.

The kind that scrape their way into your skull before your eyes even cooperate.

For a second I didn’t know where I was. Everything smelled like damp stone and burnt herbs. My head felt… hollowed, like someone had scooped the inside out and left only the ringing. Then I heard my name. Not spoken. Hissed. Almost like a complaint.

“…if you had waited, she wouldn’t be waking this fast.”

That was the Flame Priestess. Her tone had ...