Prologue
Twelve years ago
Mikhail
A door bursting open pierces through my hazy consciousness, followed by the sense of falling in slow motion. Unfamiliar voices whisper somewhere far away, gradually becoming louder, until all I can hear is hurried shouting.
A gasp to my left, “Dear God.”
I try opening my eyes but fail. It takes me a few tries before I manage to peel my eyelids apart, but all I can see are blurry shapes.
And then comes the pain.
It feels like I've been stabbed by a thousand knives, with blades lodged into my flesh. The sharp, searing, body-wide sensation encompasses everything.
I choke on my breath and try to talk, but the only thing that comes out is a pained wheezing gasp. The void closes in again, the sounds slowly fade, and I let myself float away. The la
