{RIVEN'S POV}
My eyelids felt like stone. Every time I tried to pry them open, they resisted, heavy and stubborn, until finally a sliver of light forced its way in.
At first, nothing was clear.
Shapes bled together, colors dulled, and for a moment I thought maybe I was still sleeping. But then my vision sharpened, and the weight in my chest grew heavier as I realized I didn't know where I was.
I was no longer locked in a cell. The smell was herbs and burning oil, not iron and blood.
My brow furrowed as I tried to move my head. My entire body ached as if I'd been trampled by a warhorse, ribs screaming with every shallow breath I took.
Then my eyes fell on the figure slumped in a chair beside me. Her brown hair streaked with strands of grey, her arms folded tight against her chest as if she'd been standing guard even in sleep, and that face…
A face I thought I'd never see again.
