When Horn opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the ceiling wrapped in vines, colored in alternating red and yellow hexagons.
As he tried to turn his head, a tearing pain in his neck made him grimace.
"You're awake?"
Orange-yellow sunlight streamed through the window like a folding fan, illuminating the symmetrical black diamond-shaped tiles on the marble and making them shine.
On the marble floor, Horn saw Hilov seated in a wheelchair, a blanket draped over her thighs, and a book spread open in her hands.
Hilov turned her head to look at Horn, her tail stiff with tension. She rolled her wheelchair to Horn's bedside: "I'm sorry, I didn't anticipate what happened afterward."
"Don't say that, I didn't expect things would turn out this way either." Horn recalled the events, touching the bandage on his neck with lingering fear.
