Consciousness returned to me slowly, like swimming up from the bottom of a deep, dark pool. The first thing I noticed was that I wasn't in pain. The drugs they'd injected me with should have left me groggy and disoriented for hours, but instead, I felt surprisingly clear-headed.

My healing abilities must have processed the sedative faster than they expected.

I kept my eyes closed and my breathing steady, listening carefully to my surroundings. The room I was in felt ...