Chapter 129
Vanya
The first thing I felt was the pain.
A dull, splitting ache in my skull that made the world sway before I even opened my eyes. My throat was dry, my lips cracked—I was parched, hollow, fragile. Like someone had wrung me out and left me to dry in the sun.
I tried to open my eyes, a sliver at first, but the light stabbed into my skull and I snapped them shut again with a hiss.
Everything hurt.
I swallowed—gods, my tongue felt like sand—and forced myself to try again. Slower this time. The blur of a ceiling came into view. Strange, unfamiliar. Dark. The ceiling was pitch black, its edges traced with gold lines, like constellations carved into stone.
Before I could make sense of it, whispers stirred around me.
“Oh my moon goddesses! She’s finally waking up! Call the A
