The world came back in fragments.
I blinked slowly, my vision swimming until the underside of the bar tables and the silhouette of overturned chairs snapped into focus. Clothes were strewn across the floor—my white jacket, my lace underwear, and lots of translucent fluid. We were still in the bar.
A sudden belated panic surged through me. I tried to sit up abruptly, but a spike of pain shot through my waist, forcing me to hunch over with a mangled groan before I could even straighten my spine.
"Lie back down for a bit longer, Lyra."
Elara's voice drifted from the side. Her long arms slid around my waist, effortlessly pulling me back down against the "mat" she had created. The padded jacket, soft and expensive, cushioned my fall against the hard floor.
I stared blankly at the ceiling, watching the faint amber glow of the emergency lights.
