Unwanted Alliances    

When I woke up, the sterile scent of a hospital filled my nose. Again.

It hadn't been that long since the last time I was here.

My body ached, a dull pain radiating from my side, but I was alive.

Somehow, I had survived.

But as I stared up at the ceiling, the reality of my situation settled in. I had been shot, nearly killed, and yet the only thing on my mind wasn't the danger I had just escaped. It was that name. My real family.

"You're awake?"

I blinked, disoriented, and turned toward the voice. Lina sat casually in a chair beside the bed, her legs crossed as she beamed from ear to ear. The brightness in her eyes was almost overwhelming, a stark contrast to the dull throb in my head.

"Thankfully, the bullet didn't hit any major organs, and our doctors managed to stitch you up without complications," she said, her tone almost too casual for the situation.