I should leave

Morning sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains, casting a thin line across the floor.

Lathel woke to the faint sound of birds outside the window.

He didn't open his eyes right away. His consciousness had only just returned and was still slightly hazy, and his body carried a strange lightness. For the first few seconds, Lathel even thought he was still lying in the familiar room at House Kirlinghalm.

Then he caught an unfamiliar scent.

Not the lingering smell of medicine that had seeped into Leviana's room over the years, nor the familiar scent of old wood from the table he always used.

Lathel slowly opened his eyes.

The ceiling was higher.

White-blue curtains hung around the windows, the furniture was made of a light-colored wood, and carved into the wall was a silver eagle crest he had once seen on a House Avarenne carriage.

Lathel looked around for a while before the events before he lost consciousness came back to him.