Seraphine's eyes fluttered open, her vision blurry as the bright lights of the hospital ward came into focus. She blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the sterile white room around her. The faint beeping of a heart monitor reached her ears, along with the distant murmur of voices outside the door. Her body ached all over, her muscles screaming in pain as she shifted slightly in bed.
"Where... am I?" she muttered, her voice hoarse and weak.
"Place where weak people end up." My voice cut through the stillness, calm and unbothered.
Her head turned toward the sound, and her gaze landed on me, sitting beside her bed with my legs crossed, a book in one hand and a piece of gum in my mouth. I was leaning back in the chair, looking completely relaxed, as though I belonged there. My black coat hung over the back of the chair, and my sword rested against the wall, its handle catching the light.