Seventeen hours had passed since Kiara collapsed. When she finally woke up, the afternoon light of the third day was already filtering through the wooden window. Her body felt heavy and sluggish, as if she'd been through a brutal fight rather than… whatever that had been.
She slowly opened her eyes and turned her head. Scarlett was sitting on the edge of the bed beside her, head slightly lowered as she dozed. The moment Kiara stirred, Scarlett's eyes snapped open, already alert.
"You're awake," Scarlett said quietly. "How do you feel?"
Kiara didn't answer right away. The memories from the day before came rushing back all at once... the endless, desperate movements of her own hand, the hours of forced pleasure that felt more like torture, the way she had screamed until her voice broke.
A cold shiver ran down her spine.
For the first time in a long while, she felt genuinely afraid of the curse.
