He slipped his hand in his pocket and suddenly the video began to play, sound filtering into the room. I sat dazed for a moment glancing between the video and where Daeglan stood leaning against the door. My mind was suffering from the lack of food and sleep, making my thoughts sluggish at best. “Cat, are you disobeying me?” he asked with a warning tone. I scrambled up to stand in the center of the room, my head spinning with the sudden movement. I managed to stay upright as the darkness around the edges of my vision dispersed. The video instructor was a middle-aged woman with a round face and a voice I might have said was patronizing had I not been in such great need of reassurance and affection. She encouraged me to squat as if I was about to sit in a chair, then stand, and repeat. As th
