Stella
When I woke up, it was to pain.
Not the sharp, tearing kind. The deep, stitched, searing kind. The kind that means something went inside you and tried to rearrange your insides.
The ceiling above me was white with florescent lights. The air smelled of antiseptic and fear.
Hospital. I knew that immediately.
Good. That was good.
My body felt distant. Heavy. My abdomen burned in a wide band beneath layers of binding. I tried to move and regretted it instantly. Something pulled tight. Stitches. Memories flickered.
Darkness. Claws. Screaming. Black blood.
My hand twitched.
There was something under my fingernails. I could feel it. Dried. Crusted.
A voice speaks softly near my bed.
"She's coming around."
Kael.
I didn't need to see him to know that voice. Another presence sto
