Kaelen pov
Darkness.
Pain.
The smell of blood and dust.
These were the things Kaelen knew before consciousness fully returned. His body felt like it had been broken and poorly reassembled, every part screaming in protest as awareness crept back in.
He tried to open his eyes, but only one responded. The other was swollen shut. Through his working eye, he saw movement…figures in flowing robes, the color of storm clouds. Voices spoke in urgent tones, but the words were muffled, distant.
Someone was lifting him. Gentle hands, but even that gentle touch sent fresh waves of agony through his battered body. He tried to speak, to ask about the others, but only a weak groan escaped his lips.
"This one's alive," a woman's voice said. "Barely."
"The others?"
"Three more were breathing. One wolf, badly injured. The older woman has broken ribs, punctured lung. We need to move them now."
