Chapter 302: The Fog of Time

~ ZARA ~

My mom was freaking out.

Somehow she'd gotten even more anxious than I remembered while they were here.

I had a splitting headache and my head was foggy, which was scary given what they said had happened. I remembered getting knocked off my horse and Ash screaming and launching at me, but nothing after that, even though they said I'd stirred a lot and spoken a couple of times.

I kept blinking, my eyelids heavy. Like I wanted to sleep. The doctor they'd brought in was worried.

"Concussion is very likely. You'll need to be woken every hour overnight to ensure that your brain hasn't swollen. Unless…" he turned to look at my father, whose lips pursed suddenly.

"Unless?" I asked, then winced, because my own voice sounded so loud in my head, it hurt.

Ash was staring at me, and for the first time I was seeing the darkness and intensity in him that I used to see in Arinel.