Aria’s Point of View.

“Am I dead?”

Pain pulsed through my body.

My ribs throbbed with every breath, my arms felt like dead weights, and my head was split into two.

The raw sting of torn flesh, bruised muscle, and exhaustion clung to me.

My throat was scorched and dry, and even the air I breathed tasted like ash.

I forced my eyes open.

A ceiling of polished wooden beams stared back at me. Warm golden candlelight flickered against the walls of ...