The shadow at her knee formed the shape of a hand, resting high on her thigh. Those shadowed fingers spanned out until one long digit pointed right up at her, as if an arrow for Kit to follow.
He huffed a breath, reaching up to touch his mask, as if ensuring it was still on his face.
Each movement was stilted.
"Kit,please, wake up. This isn’t you. Come back to me."
The tip of his boot brushed hers. She shrank against the concrete. Her shadow was gone. Not even it could protect her from Kit.
"It is not me. But it is what I am now. I can’t come back to you. You will come to me."
The silver tube thrummed and shook. She’d nearly forgotten about it. The red light blinked faster. Then the top unlatched with a hiss as dark smoke began to leak out.
Immediately, her eyes burned.
She yanked her shirt up to her nose and mouth, hoping to filter the gas. She couldn’t hold her breath forever. Kit waited for her to break.
Her body betrayed her. She sucked in a great, gasping breath, and the gas filled her body. It was scentless, yet it tasted of medicine as it entered her mouth.
She sagged back against the concrete, head swimming, and lids fluttering.
The last thing she saw was Kit crouching to lift her in his arms, holding her against his chest. Her cheek fell to his shoulder, her neck unable to keep her head upright. His grip tightened, and she gave a low, pained sound. He loosened his hold on her, as if unaware of his strength.
His fingertips brushed her cheek. They were cold.
"We both lose this time, Vesperin."
17
PHOENIX
When Rin awoke, her mouth was dry, and her abdomen ached fiercely.
Half asleep, with her eyes still closed, she reached down to touch her lower stomach. Her fingertips shifted against soft cotton. Something tugged at her arm as she moved it. She pressed down, and the pain made her hiss. She groaned weakly, head turning until her cheek pressed against a pillow. It hurt.Shehurt.
Each breath hit her chapped lips hotly, making her feel suffocated. Her tongue wetted her bottom lip, and the corners of her mouth felt dry and cracked, as if they’d been held open.
Rin’s fingers curled against fabric—a blanket? She tried to open her eyes, but they were crusted together, stuck. She tried to lift her head, but her neck wouldn’t cooperate.
She gave another weak, pained moan, feeling like she should be scared. She should see where she was. She had to get out of here.Not safe, not safe. The words pounded in her heart, not like her heartbeat, though, because her heart felt calm. Too calm.
After much struggle, she finally got her lids to crack, and the bright light made her whimper. Tears leaked from the corners ofher eyes, trailing up her temples from how she lay. One trickled across the bridge of her nose wetly.
She forced her eyes to stay open and acclimate. All she could make out were shimmering soft specks from her tears.
When she could finally focus, all she saw was still white. It took her too long in her addled, dazed state of mind to realize that was because everything around herwaswhite. The brightness of it burned her eyes. Her gaze swung around the room as she took it in.
White walls, a sterile table beside her with nothing on it, a pole at her bedside which had a clear bag of fluid, an IV line connecting to her arm, tugging sharply as she moved. The sheets were white. She shoved the stiff sheet down, palms landing on the soft cotton fabric that covered her. It was white, too, and plain. Her bare legs brushed against each other beneath the sheets. She wore a simple slip. And no underwear.
Rin began to hyperventilate. Her mind still struggled to keep up. Everything was too bright, too scary. She was so scared. Yet her heart remained calm as she tried to swing her legs over the side of the bed. Her upper half fell against the sheets, and she saw the plain white pillow she’d been resting on. Her fingers curled in the end.
A soft beep made her stiffen, and her hair hung around her face as she half-leaned over the bed, one leg out from under the sheets, the other tangled beneath. She kept her grip on the pillow as she slowly looked up as a door hissed open.
She saw a brief flash of a hallway beyond as a doctor stepped inside. A surgical mask covered her nose and mouth; above it, thin brows arched over deep blue eyes. Her hair was a mix of grey and brown, tied at the back of her nape.
She looked at Rin briefly, then her eyes flicked down to a sleek tablet in her hands—the only thing that was dark in this room.
"Oh my, you’re not supposed to be awake yet," said the doctor. With one hand, she straightened her lab coat, the other clicking off the tablet as she dropped her arm to her side. She walked over to the bed, and from the way Rin was partly lying down, her head dropped, as she stared at the woman’s shoes—plain white sneakers.
