CIAN
"Mother," I said, my voice rough. "Can you hear me?"
Her eyes fluttered open, unfocused at first, like she was still somewhere else, then slowly sharpened as they settled on my face. She tried to breathe in, but it caught halfway and turned into a cough. Blood followed, spilling past her lips and trailing down her chin.
"I'm fine," she rasped.
"You're not." My gaze moved over her again, more carefully this time, taking in every detail whether I wanted to or not. Too many injuries. Too much damage. My jaw tightened. "Who did this to you?"
She coughed again, her whole body jerking with the effort. When she spoke, it came out thin, barely there. "A girl. Young, with dark hair."
The same one.
Something in me snapped into focus. The girl from the tree line. The one who had locked my body in place and left me helpless. She was the same one who had done this…
