Warm sunlight kissed his skin.
Arthur opened his crimson eyes with a sharp inhale, chest heaving as if he'd just surfaced from the bottom of a deep ocean. His heart pounded in his ears. For a moment, he stayed lying there, staring up at a clear blue sky with scattered, soft clouds drifting lazily.
The salty scent of the ocean filled his lungs, strangely calming despite the chaos raging inside his mind. A cool breeze brushed across his face, carrying the distant cries of seabirds somewhere overhead.
Sand shifted under his back.
He pushed himself upright, breath ragged.
His hand flew to his chest.
'What the… I was sure there was a gaping hole in my chest,' Arthur thought, fingers pressing frantically over his shirt, searching for torn flesh, shattered bone.
But there was nothing.
No hole.
No blood.
Just the phantom ache of pain that should have killed him.
He forced himself to calm down, inhaling slowly, exhaling through his teeth.
