A low, raspy groan escaped Kavin's throat, the sound thick with the heavy exhaustion of a body pulled back from the brink.
When his eyelids finally fluttered open, the blurred shapes above him gradually solidified into the familiar, intricate patterns of the bedroom ceiling.
He lay perfectly still for a moment, listening to the quiet rhythm of the room, before attempting to shift his weight.
He braced his palms against the mattress, intending to push himself up, but a sharp, white-hot flash of agony instantly flared across his upper torso.
He froze, his breath catching sharply in his chest as a cold sweat broke out across his forehead.
The deep, dull ache in his chest suggested that his fractured ribs had finally begun to knit back together under the surface, but his collarbones were a completely different story.
Every minor twitch felt as though jagged shards of glass were grinding directly into his flesh.
