Aire woke up with a strange ache in her body, a sudden rush of warmth flooding her body, the kind of heat that spread from her legs upward, leaving her confused and uneasy. She had no recollection of how she ended up here, no sense of the events that had transpired before. The weight in her legs was unfamiliar, a strange, aching sensation that only deepened her disorientation.
The room around her was not her own. The soft, dim light filtering through the curtains did little to calm her anxiety. It was a space she didn't recognize—Panic set in, her breathing quickened as she tried to make sense of her surroundings.
Then, the memory struck her in pieces. Her stepmother. The "health tonic" she had insisted on giving her earlier. The bitter taste of it still lingered in the back of her throat, and it clicked—this was no ordinary tonic. Her stepmother's concerned smile had been a lie, masking something darker.
