Elena’s POV

When I woke, the room was quiet. The kind of quiet that makes you listen for things that aren’t there. My eyes took a while to adjust, shapes forming slowly into full images; the edge of the curtain, the faint outline of the door. My ankle throbbed, and when I shifted, pain climbed up my leg like a slow pulse.

For a moment, I just lay there, staring at the ceiling. The air smelled faintly of disinfectant, and there was a strange heaviness in my chest.

I called softly for my ...