Something in my arm pinches, and I go to sit up, sharp pain slamming into me like an invisible wall. My breathing picks up, and panic fills me as I try to remember where I am and how I got here. Squeezing my eyes shut, flashes of the beating I took come back, snippets of Bradan and a car ride, someone taking care of me.
My eyes fly open at the excited laughter of a child as the door across from the bed to the left opens. Tasmin's reddish hair is the first thing I recognize, and I try harder to sit up and mask the emotions on my face.
"Don't move, Miss Clara!" he shouts, darting into the room and almost throwing the plates he's carrying on the dresser top across from the bed before running to my side and trying to help me. "Dad!"
Bradan is carrying a tray with food on it as he ki
