When Ren finally fluttered her heavy eyelids open, the ambient light filtering through the high archways of the obsidian castle told her it was already well past noon.
She was tucked back into the nest on the fur bed. The first thing her blurry vision focused on was Syris. The Snake King was laying beside her, his head casually propped up by his muscular arm as he quietly, intently stared at her sleeping face.
As Ren's vision fully cleared, her gaze naturally dropped from his beautiful, sharp jawline down to his bare chest. The sight of his severely peeling, red, sunburnt skin instantly jolted her memory.
"The vial!" Ren gasped, shooting straight up.
It was a massive mistake.
The second she moved, her entire body protested. Everywhere hurt. Her core ached, her lower back throbbed, and her legs felt like they had been run over by a freight train. Her muscles screamed in pure agony as she tried to swing her legs over the side of the bed, her knees instantly buckling beneath her.
