AYASHA'S POV
The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the smell. Not the familiar scent of our shared room with its stone walls and simple furnishings, but something cleaner, sharper. Herbs and medicinal oils mixed with the underlying smell of sickness that seemed to cling to places where people came to heal.
My eyelids felt heavy, like someone had sewn weights into them. I blinked slowly, trying to focus on the ceiling above me. It was different from our room too. Higher, with wooden beams crossing the white-washed stone.
"You're finally awake."
I turned my head toward the voice, the movement sending a spike of pain through my skull. Pavati was sitting beside the bed I was lying in, her face creased with worry. Her dark hair was pulled back in a simple braid, and she was wearing the same dress she had put on this morning. But the sunlight streaming through the tall windows told me it wasn't morning anymore.
"What happened?" she asked the moment she saw my eyes focus on her.
