I woke feeling like someone had replaced all my organs with wet cement.
My eyelids felt glued shut. My bones felt too heavy. My brain felt like a half melted candle. For a long minute I lay staring at the ceiling, waiting for the world to stop tilting or for my mark to stop pulsing under my skin like a muted alarm.
Neither happened.
The mark’s glow had faded overnight, but the warmth was still there. Soft. Persistent. Like a cat kneading its claws into my palm from the inside.
I let out a groan and rolled onto my side.
A knock sounded at the door.
This early could only mean Leah.
Sure enough, she cracked the door open and poked her head in. Her hair was in a messy braid. She held two mugs of something warm. Her expression was a mix of worry and determination.
“You look terrible,” s
