I woke on a bed so soft it felt like I was floating. Warm air skimmed over my bare back, brushing the raw, sensitive skin with a gentle kiss that was almost soothing everywhere but the upper left side, where the brand had seared itself into my flesh. The pain had dulled to a throbbing ache, numbed further by a coolness radiating from the fresh bandage. My cheek was half-buried in the pillow, limiting my view to the hazy edges of silk sheets and the vastness of the mattress beneath me.
With painstaking slowness, I turned onto my side, wincing as the effort tugged at tense back muscles. It took longer than I’d care to admit to raise myself just enough to look around. The room was enormous easily larger than my entire apartment and drenched in golden sunlight spilling through floor-to-ceilin
