Kaelen’s POV……

Pain was the first thing I felt.

A deep, bone-splintering, soul-aching heaviness that didn’t belong to my body alone. It was the kind of pain that came from being broken open from the inside. A pain I vaguely remembered inflicting on someone—

Aria.

My eyes snapped open.

White canvas ceiling.

The scent of sage and healing herbs.

The muffled sound of voices outside the tent.

I was alive.

But that wasn’t what mattered.

My head turned ...