Seraphina's Point Of View
I groaned.
Not the soft kind. The ugly, dragged-out kind that clawed its way out of my throat before I could stop it.
Every inch of my body screamed.
It wasn't just soreness… it was the kind of deep, bone-heavy ache that made it feel like I'd been hit by a truck, backed over, then dragged for good measure. My thighs throbbed. My hips burned. My lower back felt like it had been snapped and poorly stitched back together.
"What the fuck…" I whispered hoarsely.
My eyes stayed shut, because opening them felt like too much effort, like if I did, reality would slam into me harder than whatever had already wrecked my body.
My head was pounding. Not a dull ache… sharp, relentless, like something was drilling into my skull from the inside.
Memories fluttered at the edges of my mind, just out of reach. Shadows. Heat. Voices.
Men.
I sucked in a breath, and hissed when my chest tightened.
Slowly, cautiously, I forced my eyes open.
