AVA'S POV
Pain exploded behind my eyelids. Dull, deep, everywhere. Then there was the smell-antiseptic, sharp and clean, cutting through the fog in my head.
My eyelids fluttered open. Harsh white light seared my vision, and the steady beep of a machine echoed beside me. I blinked until the blur sharpened into a ceiling I didn't recognize, then walls, then-
"Ava."
My heart lurched. Ethan's voice. The voice pulled me like a thread.
"Ethan?" My voice was weak, hoarse. My chest rose and fell too quickly. "What are you... how-"
I turned my head weakly, my throat raw. My brother sat in a chair pulled close to the bed, his tall frame tense, his jaw clenched so tight I thought it might snap. His eyes, dark and stormy, locked on mine.
"You're awake," he breathed, a mix of relief and fury in
