Chapter 209

• Aria
• When I come to, the first thing I notice is the pounding in my head. It’s brutal, like someone is hammering nails into my skull. My entire body feels heavy, but it’s my head that’s screaming the loudest. Even opening my eyelids feels like lifting stone slabs. Still, I force them open.
• Everything around me is pitch black. There's no light anywhere except a faint flicker outside…firelight, I think. I squint, trying to focus on the glowing flames dancing in the distance.