Catherine Stewart was in a lot of pain. Her throat ached and burned, and her head throbbed. She raised a hand and touched her throat—the skin felt hot and swollen beneath her fingers. She pushed gently, and a sharp pain seized her. Her hand fell down to her side, and she groaned.
For a moment, she wondered if she was dead. She was sure she'd been on the brink of death. A hazy, glimmering light had appeared in the corner of the dark prison cell, filling her body with burning pain. The light got brighter and brighter, and she shut her eyes.
But if she was dead, why was she in such pain? Had the prison director decided to save her at the last minute? She groaned and tried to move her body. Besides the pain in her throat and the aching in her head, she felt okay. The burning fever was gone, and her heart thumped a steady rhythm in her chest.
"You should have let me die," she moaned.
"Die?" a deep voice asked. "Never."
