Chapter 24

GWEN

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When I awake, the first thing I become aware of is a parched throat, then slowly other details unblur into focus. A freezing room, harsh leather strapped to my wrists and ankles. A metal enclosure with large, transparent tubes dotting a corner of the room.

I look forward and still.

In a glass pool, a man--no, an animal?-- floats suspended in a body of liquid.

Tearing my eyes from the haunting sight, I drag in a breath, the smell of formalin strong in my nose. I peer up at the metal ceiling and the memories come rushing back, Malcolm's expressionless face as I was dragged away, Ivar's cruel smile, the prick of a niddle at my