Warm. That’s the only thing that registers. Warm and soft and something smells like coffee and I’m not cold, I’m not on concrete, I’m not—
The ceiling comes into focus. White. Clean.
The house.
I turn my head and my neck aches, my whole body aches, but in a distant way. Like the pain belongs to someone else and I’m just borrowing it.
Beckett’s sitting on the floor near the window, back against the wall, scrolling through his phone. He looks up when I move. Doesn’t say anything. Holds my gaze for a second, then nods.
You’re okay. You’re here.
That’s it.
I try to sit up and my arms shake. I make it halfway before I have to stop, breathing hard, which is embarrassing. I used to walk ten miles onan empty stomach. Now I can’t even sit up without my body staging a protest.
Beckett sets his phone down. “Take your time.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not.” There’s no judgment in it. “But you will be.”
I manage to get upright. The blanket pools around my waist and I realize I’m still in the same clothes I was wearing when I—
When I what?
The alley. The cold. My phone dying. And then… nothing. Flashes. Warmth. Being carried. A voice in my ear I couldn’t quite hold onto.
“How long was I out?”
“Since last night. It’s almost five now.”
Almost a full day. I’ve lost a full day.
“Where is everyone?”
“Kyron’s in the kitchen.” I glance over—he’s leaning against the doorway with a mug, watching me with those sharp blue eyes. He lifts the mug slightly in greeting. “Vaelor’s upstairs charging your phone. Locke and Rane had class.” Beckett pauses. “Trey’s been with them. They should be back soon.”
Footsteps on the stairs. Beckett stops talking.
Vaelor appears with a sleeve of crackers in one hand and a glass of water in the other. My phone is tucked in his pocket, charging cable trailing.
“Finally got enough juice to turn on,” he says, setting them on the coffee table. Then he looks at me—really looks—and something shifts in his face. Relief, or something close to it.
“You’re awake.”
“Apparently.”
He pulls the phone from his pocket and sets it beside the crackers. “Figured you’d want it back.”
“Eat,” he says. “Slow. See if you can keep it down.”
“I’m not—”
My stomach growls. Loud enough that all four of us hear it.
Vaelor’s mouth twitches. “You were saying?”
I stick my tongue out at him. Pick up a cracker anyway.
