He knew that first, before the pain, before the horror, before the cold anger and mind-numbing humiliation. It was the mystery he clung to, when all those other things rolled through him. It was something to occupy his mind. It was dim, and his eyes wouldn’t open all the way, so it was difficult to make out details that might give his location away. Kaie was fairly certain that the wall he could see was made of the strange stone, not of the white stuff of the manse. He was certain that he wasn’t on his bedroll. He was too high from the floor, for starters, and Kaie knew the press of the stone against the thin material quite well. Whatever he was laying on now lacked all of that support that came from stone underneath. He found he didn’t like the sensation of hanging over open air. He wasn’t naked. Not anymore. Now he was in one of the white gowns all the servants wore. It was as soft and thin as a spider’s web, and every bit as cool as it looked. He tried to sit, but discovered he was tied down.
