Nia stirred, a low groan escaping her lips as she shifted on the unfamiliar bed. Her body felt heavy, weighed down by exhaustion and the lingering ache of bruises. For a moment, her mind swam in a haze, disoriented and detached from reality.
Where was she?
What had happened?
The questions buzzed faintly at the back of her mind, as though she couldn't fully grasp them yet.
Her throat was parched, dry as sandpaper, and she instinctively reached for the glass of water on the nightstand beside her. The cold rim of the glass pressed against her trembling lips, and she drank greedily, the liquid sliding down her throat in desperate gulps. It wasn't until the glass was empty that the first sliver of clarity struck her like a thunderclap.
She froze.
