Gina POV
Waking felt like dragging myself out of a long dream.
Every inch of my body burned, not the sharp agony from before, but a deep, humming heat that lived beneath my skin. Like my blood had learned a new rhythm and refused to forget it.
I stared at the ceiling for a second to get my bearings.
Alive.
Again, I survived.
The healer stood nearby, murmuring under her breath, applying salves that cooled and soothed my body but didn’t quite touch whatever had changed inside me.
Mary sat at the foot of the bed, her posture slumped and her eyes red from crying, glancing anxiously at the healer.
“You scared me again,” she whispered.
“I told you to lie low after you recovered. Tell me how you ended up being punished by that lunatic steward, who is known to bully maids, and then you fa
