My body felt like it was made of lead, every muscle heavy and unresponsive, my eyelids so weighed down I could barely lift them. When I tried to open my eyes, a sudden burst of light made me wince, forcing them shut again, my head throbbing with the effort. I waited, breathing slowly, and after a few seconds, I tried again, my eyes fluttering open to stare at the ceiling. It looked familiar, the faint patterns stirring a memory, and as my brain struggled to pull itself together, I realized it was the same ceiling I’d seen before, in a room in Iron Claw. My heart sank a little—am I back here again? I asked myself, confusion swirling in my mind as I tried to make sense of it.
A soft shuffling sound came from my side, and I turned my neck, wincing at the stiffness, to see Silvia sitting up
