CHAP. SEVEN—IOTA.

『.*+ • ᴄʜᴀᴘ.ꜱᴇᴠᴇɴ• *+.』

SCARLETT WOKE UP WITH A SHARP GASP, her heart racing.

She stared at the white ceiling before swiveling her head side-to-side. She recognized the summer blue colour of her bedroom walls. Her head was pounding, her body rigid and achy. But all-in-all, she felt somewhat alright.

From the closed curtains and the fairy lights on, she could tell it was already dark out. She blinked a few times, pushing tussocks of her hair out of her face. She slowly reached over her temple and expected any twinge of unbearable pain. But there wasn't any.

She tapped her forehead and scowered around her head, no injuries. She was clean. "What?" The teen was sure she hit her head. She sprang upright from her bed and repeatedly touched her face. No scars, no lacerations. She remembered having gashes on her forearm from the branches. But there were none. Nothing. Gone. As if she was never inflicted.

"How long was I out?" She whispered to herself.

Scarlett shifted to her open bedroom