Elisabeth's POV
Growing up, my parents drilled caution into me like a mantra. They warned me about reckless behavior, about taking unnecessary risks, about the consequences of being careless. Because of their constant vigilance, I had lived a remarkably sheltered life. No emergency room visits for broken bones, no heart-stopping moments that left me gasping for air, and definitely nothing as traumatic as severe burns.
Yet if I had ever experienced third-degree burns, I suspected the agony would pale in comparison to what was currently coursing through my body. This pain was beyond anything I could have imagined. It felt as though someone had taken a blowtorch to every single nerve ending, setting them ablaze with a intensity that made me want to scream. Each pulse of torment was more vicious than the last, building upon itself until I wasn't sure where one wave ended and another began.
