†Noca's POV†
The morning light was cruel. It filtered through the tall windows of my chamber like silver blades, slicing through the thick darkness that still clung to my mind. I blinked once, then twice as my body felt heavy, my throat dry, my muscles sore as though I had been in battle all night.
I pushed myself up from the bed. Pain shot through my ribs, my spine, my shoulders. My sheets were soaked through—part sweat, part blood. My blood. Someone else's. I didn't know whose it was anymore.
But some parts were covered in herbs. Herbs I couldn't understand where they came from.
The air reeked of iron and fur. It clung to me. The scent of the beast never really left, not after a night like that.
