The first thing I felt was heat.

It crept beneath my skin, pulsing from the gash on my shoulder like a second heartbeat. The second thing I felt was pain. A sharp, grounding ache that dragged me out of the darkness I’d been lost in for hours.

When my eyes fluttered open, the room swam into focus — dim light filtering through drawn curtains, the faint scent of lavender and herbs hanging in the air. I recognized Kristen’s quarters before my thoughts even caught up.

Someone had ...