Chapter 82

Iris

I wake in silence.

There is no soft light, no birdsong, no scent of pine or snow. Only stillness. My body aches. Sharp in some places, dull in others. But I’m alive. That should be enough.

It isn’t.

Where the heck am I? This bed is too large. Sheets like spiderwebs. They smell...lavender? There’s also this puffy pillow cradling my head, but I don’t remember lying down. I don’t remember anythi