Sometime later;
Mia blinked slowly, her vision adjusting to the dim glow of the lantern hanging on the wall. The damp, suffocating air of the prison was gone. Instead, she lay on a soft mattress covered with a thick woolen blanket. The bed wasn't luxurious, but compared to where she had been for the past year or so, it was paradise.
Her body still ached, every limb feeling like lead, but as she turned her head, her eyes immediately landed on a familiar figure.
Kael sat at the edge of the bed, watching over her. His normally composed expression cracked with relief as their gazes met. "Mia." His voice was barely above a whisper, but it carried the weight of a thousand emotions.
Mia shifted, trying to sit up, but the moment she did, her body betrayed her. A sharp dizziness hit her, and she lurched forward.
Kael's hands shot out, steadying her before she could fall. "Easy there, tiger." His grip was firm, warm—so real that for a second, she almost forgot where she was.
