Chapter 168

• A soft, rhythmic beeping pulled me back toward consciousness. Two women were murmuring nearby, their voices low and muffled, like echoes through fog. The air reeked of antiseptics sharp, sterile, unmistakable. I was in a bed a hospital bed, I guessed.
• My eyes fluttered open. I turned my head slowly, carefully, toward the source of the voices. Blinking several times, I struggled to bring the shapes into focus. “Romilly,” I croaked. My voice felt like sandpaper.
• She jumped up instantly and rushed to my bedside.