KAEL
I came up slowly, like dragging myself out of deep water. The head was killing me. Throat dry. Everything felt heavy. The first thing that hit me was someone holding my hands so tight my fingers were going numb. I turned my head, slow as hell, and there she was.
Lyra.
Slumped forward in the chair they’d dragged right next to my bed, head resting on her arms, hair all crazy and falling over her face. She was dead asleep, mouth a little open, but her hands were locked around mine like if she let go I’d vanish.
I just stared. Couldn’t move yet. My brain was still stuck on the last thing I remembered: her blood all over my arms, the sword sticking out of her stomach, me giving so much blood the room went black. She was supposed to be half-dead in a bed somewhere, not sitting here h
