I woke up in a bed I wasn't used to in a room I didn't recognize. For a moment, panic ruled me as I thought Olezhka had been taken and imprisoned again, but he was curled up beside the bed pressed as close as he could get without being up on the mattress with me.

I sat up to reach for him and winced in pain. Someone had bandaged my ribs, but there were still bruises up and down the length of my arms. Olezhka woke up immediately.

"Ophelia!" There was genuine concern in his voice. ...