Chapter 60: Warmth After the Storm
The cracking of fire reached his ears, the pleasant smell of bonfire entered his nostrils, and its warmth slowly embraced his body, filling him with vitality. After walking through a freezing blizzard, the heat was more than welcome.
His chest rose and fell steadily, each breath deeper than the last. The blood that had filled his lungs was gone. The bones he’d most likely broken during his fall from the cliff were whole again. Even the exhaustion weighing down his limbs had vanished. He must have slept for at least half a day.
’Someone helped me?’
The thought resonated in his mind, yet his eyes didn’t open. Slowing down his breathing as much as possible, he relaxed his muscles, pretending to be asleep.
His ears tuned in, scanning his surroundings.
’A fireplace nearby, this explains the cracking sounds and the warmth. I don’t hear the wind of the blizzards. I doubt whoever saved me has brought me far, so we must be in some kind of shelter.’
He ignored the loud sounds and focused on the faintest ones.
Echoes of footsteps sounded above and below him.
’Wherever I am, it has several floors.’
Finally, his attention landed on the most unsettling thing.
Breathing—not his own but someone else’s.
’They are relaxed, but I can’t grasp much more than this.’