**LUNA'S POINT OF VIEW**The first thing she felt was the ceiling.Not saw. Felt. The white of it, the cleanness of it, pressing down on her eyes in a way that made no sense, and she lay there for several seconds trying to locate herself inside a body that felt like it had been taken apart and put back together slightly wrong.Her lungs hurt. Not pain exactly but a rawness, like the inside of her throat had been scraped with something rough, and every breath brought a faint wheeze that she could feel more than hear. Her left side was a dull continuous throb. Her face felt thick on one side, swollen in the particular way that meant the swelling had been there long enough to settle.White ceiling. Clean walls. The smell of antiseptic and something faintly floral underneath it.Not the cell.Her mind reached for the last thing it had and found smoke and orange light and a man's chest and then nothing. She tried to sit up and a hand came down on her shoulder, gentle but firm, stopping her
Last Updated : 2026-04-16 Read more